New Delhi, March 13 -- Not just a freaky Friday, but it has indeed been a freaky month. Spooked by the US-Iran war, rising crude oil prices and the spillover effect on the Indian economy, stock market sentiment is turned extremely risk-off.

On Friday, March 13, the flagship Nifty 50 index of the Indian stock market slumped almost 450 points, or 2%, with selling pressure exacerbated by the escalating tensions in the Middle East. The index has declined for the third day in a row and a fourth time this week, taking the cumulative weekly fall to over 1300 points. Today, Nifty touched 23,112 levels as against last week's close of 24,450.

On a month-to-date basis, the index has corrected by over 7%, making it one of the steepest drawdowns wit...