India's equity benchmarks muted as Iran war worries offset IT gains

India’s equity benchmarks closed flat on Monday as persistent concerns over the impact of the Iran war offset a partial rebound in IT stocks.

Broader sentiment remained weak amid worries over a weakening rupee, elevated energy prices, rising bond yields and escalating tensions linked to the Iran conflict.

A drone strike caused a fire at a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, while Saudi Arabia said it intercepted three drones. U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran must act “fast” after efforts to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran appeared to stall.

The Nifty 50 closed 0.03% higher at 23,649.95, and the BSE Sensex added 0.1% to 75,315.04. The indexes fell as much as 1.4% during the session.

The rupee hit a record low and closed at 96.35 per dollar.

Eleven of the 16 major sectors fell, while small-caps and mid-caps lost 1.3% and 0.2%, respectively.

IT index jumped 2.4% as a stronger dollar raised expectations of better profit growth for companies that earn a large share of revenue in the greenback. The index had dropped 5.7% last week.

“The narrow recovery indicates that sentiment remains fragile for countries like India that are dependent on energy imports, as the Iran war has extended to a third month and pushed Brent Crude prices above $110 per barrel,” said Dharmesh Kant, head of equity research at Cholamandalam Securities.

Consumer durables shed 1.8%. Amber Enterprises tumbled 15.6% on weak quarterly results.

Gland Pharma jumped 15.4% on a 97% rise in March-quarter profit.

Jana Small Finance Bank fell 5.9% after saying industrialist Venu Srinivasan-led TVS Group will buy a 5.64% stake in the lender through the issuance of warrants worth 3.17 billion rupees, at 5.3% discount to last close.

Separately, TVS Motor said it will buy 4.9% in Jana Holdings for 1.93 billion rupees. TVS Motors dropped 5.1%.