Rupee, stocks reel as Trump signals end of Iran truce

President Donald Trump signaled a shift in U.S. policy toward Iran, effectively ending the nuclear truce that had capped oil price risk. Crude oil jumped on the news, sending Indian equities and the rupee into a tailspin.

The Sensex and Nifty slid more than 1% each in early trade, with losses broadening by the afternoon. The rupee weakened to its lowest point in recent weeks against the dollar. The selloff was broad-based: banks and technology stocks all declined.

The move has direct consequences for India's trade balance. Higher crude prices widen the current account deficit and put pressure on the rupee. They also raise input costs for companies that depend on petrochemical feedstocks. Fertiliser and pesticide firms are the most exposed – their margins shrink when oil and gas prices rise. Seed companies, by contrast, feel less immediate pain because their raw material costs are less energy-linked.

Among the stocks tracked by AlphaScala, HDFC Bank (HDB, Alpha Score 49) and Infosys (57) faced selling. Wipro (46) also fell. The declines reflected broad risk-off positioning rather than stock-specific triggers.

All major sectoral indices on the NSE ended the session in negative territory. No sector broke the trend.