New Delhi, March 2 -- The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are likely to open lower on Monday, amid the escalating war in the Middle East after the US and Israeli strikes on Iran and the retaliatory attack by the Islamic Republic across the region.

The trends on Gift Nifty also indicate a gap-down start for the Indian benchmark index. The Gift Nifty was trading around 25,230 level, a discount of nearly 108 points from the Nifty futures' previous close.

The Indian stock market today will react to the war in the Middle East after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the US-Israel joint strikes.

On Friday, the Indian stock market ended sharply lower on the escalating US-Iran war, with the b...