IndiGo, SpiceJet Sink as West Asia Airspace Curbs Lift Costs; Defence Pack also Under Pressure 

Airspace Closures Trigger Broad Sell-Off; SpiceJet Tumbles Nearly 10%, IndiGo Falls Over 4%

Mumbai, March 23:Amid the rising tension in the Middle East, the aviation sector in the Indian markets was among the worst affected on Monday morning, as the conflict triggered partial airspace closures across West Asia, disrupting vital international corridors that connect India with Europe and North America.

When the markets opened on Monday, shares of major carriers such as InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) and SpiceJet were in the red, while travel service stocks such as Easy Trip Planners also declined. The need to reroute flights to steer clear of conflict zones has lengthened flight durations and increased fuel consumption, significantly pushing up operational expenses at a time when global oil prices are holding above $110 per barrel.

Trading on both BSE and NSE looks weak for defence and aviation stocks today. Selling is happening across big, mid, and small companies, not just one or two names. Overall, it seems like investors are reducing exposure to the whole sector at the same time.

BEL, HAL Under Pressure

On the frontline, Bharat Electronics (BEL) is in the red at ₹410.25, down 3.72%, while Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) is also under pressure at ₹3,629.90, down 4.03%. InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) is weaker too at ₹3,971.50, down 4.28%, extending the bearish tone beyond defence into aviation. The selling is even sharper in some defence-linked names like Bharat Dynamics at ₹1,188.60, down 4.90%, and Azad Engineering at ₹1,390.00, down 5.40%.

The mid-cap and small-cap counters are not being spared either. MTAR Technologies is down 4.41% at ₹3,370.00, Data Patterns is lower by 3.97% at ₹3,102.60, and Apollo Micro Systems is down 4.85% at ₹188.99. Axiscades Technologies is off 3.55% at ₹1,375.40, while Rossell Techsys is down 4.66% at ₹686.55. Even relatively smaller niche plays such as Sika Interplant (₹899.85, -1.68%) and Jaykay Enterprises (₹125.32, -5.50%) are trading negative, showing the breadth of the decline.

SpiceJet Down 10%

In aviation, the damage looks most visible in SpiceJet, which is down nearly 10% at ₹10.85 (-9.96%), indicating significantly higher stress versus the broader pack. The presence of declines across so many names at the same time suggests that, on both NSE and BSE right now, sentiment is dominated by caution, with traders prioritizing profit-booking and risk reduction over fundamentals.

Summary

In the related news, Indian markets on Monday opened sharply lower, with BSE Sensex falling around 1,300-1,400 points and NSE’s Nifty 50 declining below 22,800 amid the rising conflict in the Middle East and the surging crude oil prices.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Bank was down 2.4%, Nifty Auto declined 2.36% while BSE Metals dropped 12.82% (1,062 pts) and BSE Oil & Gas slumped 1.35% with 351 points.

Source: https://www.ptinews.com/story/national/west-asia-conflict-dgca-asks-airlines-to-avoid-9-airspaces-ensure-robust-contingency-plans/3482544