New Delhi, Oct 16 (IANS): Concerns regarding the spread of the Israel-Hamas conflict have triggered a sharp spike in Brent crude to above $90 and safe-haven buying has pushed gold to above $1900, says V.K. Vijayakumar, the Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

The anxiety of the market is reflected in the CBOE VIX spiking above 19. "From the geopolitical perspective, we are in uncharted territory and, therefore, prudence demands that investors remain cautious," he said.

Holding cash would be a good strategy in this uncertain time. The cash component in the portfolio may be increased as a measure of caution. Also, this will enable investors to buy when there is a big dip in the market, and it is important to note that big dips can happen since valuations are high, he added.

Paints, tyres and aviation stocks will be under pressure from the rising crude. HDFC Bank results Monday will be keenly watched by the market, he said.

Vaishali Parekh, Vice President - Technical Research, Prabhudas Lilladher said the Nifty after opening on a weak note and hovering near the 19,670 zone recovered to some extent but once again witnessed resistance near the 19,800 zone and ended near the 19,750 levels with bias still remaining cautiously positive.

The index needs to maintain the near-term support zone of 19,600 levels while on the upside 19,850 zone is acting as a resistance barrier which needs to be breached decisively. The support for the day is seen at 19,650 levels while the resistance is seen at 19,900 levels, Parekh said.

BSE Sensex is down 35 points at 66,247 points on Monday. HCL Tech is up more than 1 per cent.