Mumbai, Feb 19 (PTI) Benchmark Sensex tumbled 1,236 points or 1.5 per cent while Nifty closed near 25,450 on Thursday following an across-the-board sell-off amid escalating geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran.
Halting the three-day gaining streak, the 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 1,236.11 points, or 1.48 per cent, to settle at 82,498.14. During the day, the benchmark nosedived 1,470.05 points, or 1.75 per cent, to hit an intraday low of 82,264.20.
The 50-share NSE Nifty slumped 365 points, or 1.41 per cent, to close at 25,454.35. In the intraday session, the broader NSE Nifty tanked 430.6 points, or 1.66 per cent to hit a low of 25,388.75, as 47 of its components ended in the red while three closed in the positive zone.
Among the Sensex constituents, IndiGo, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Trent, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Adani Ports, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries, Tech Mahindra, ITC, Eternal and PowerGrid were the major laggards.
“The bears took charge of the Indian market as rising geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran unsettled global sentiment, leading to a broad-based sell-off,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
He added that Brent crude surged to its year-to-date high, exacerbating inflationary concerns and triggering heightened market volatility due to the fear of the bottlenecking of the Strait of Hormuz.
“At the same time uncertainty surrounding the US Fed’s rate-cut trajectory and continued weakness in the INR impacted the domestic market. Sell-off intensified due to low FII participation because of Lunar New Year holiday across key Asian markets and a non-settlement day on account of a regional banking holiday in India,” Nair said.
A total of 2,927 stocks declined, while 1,276 advanced and 164 remain unchanged on the BSE.
Broaders indices ended lower, with the BSE Midcap Select Index declining 1.71 per cent, while Smallcap Select Index fell 0.98 per cent.
Among the sectoral indices, Realty dropped the most by 2.54 per cent, followed by Power by 2.22 per cent, Capital Goods by 2.18 per cent, Services by 2.11 per cent, Auto by 2.09 per cent, Consumer Discretionary by 1.91 per cent, Utilities by 1.90 per cent, and Industrials by 1.81 per cent.
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms eroded by Rs 6,79,210.1 crore to Rs 4,65,22,014.57 crore (USD 5.13 trillion).
“In a sharp selloff on Thursday, benchmark indices ended significantly lower, snapping a three-day winning streak. Market sentiment turned cautious amid rising geopolitical tensions, following concerns over a potential conflict between the US and Iran and speculation of possible military action over the weekend.
“Reflecting the risk-off mood, global commodity prices moved higher, with Brent crude rising over 1 per cent, while gold and silver gained up to 1 per cent, respectively,” Siddhartha Khemka – Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.
He added that “we expect markets to remain cautious in the near term given escalating geopolitical risks and the possibility of oil supply disruptions.
“Any escalation involving Iran could impact shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which would be particularly negative for India given its heavy dependence on crude imports from the region.
“On the macro front, investors will track key data releases due to release on Friday, including India’s Manufacturing and Services PMI, US CPI, and Q4 GDP,” Khemka said.
Meanwhile, Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.02 per cent to USD 71.07 per barrel.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi settled 3 per cent higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmark closed 1 per cent higher. Markets in Hong Kong and mainland China remained closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.
European markets are trading lower in mid-session deals. The US equities market closed in the green territory on Wednesday.
Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 1,154.34 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors were also the net buyers of stocks worth Rs 440.34 crore, according to exchange data.
On Wednesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 283.29 points to settle at 83,734.25, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 93.95 points to close at 25,819.35. PTI HG BAL MR
Category: Breaking News
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