Sensex, Nifty slump in early trade as Middle East conflict deepens

• Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Thursday.
• Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and others declined in early trade.
• JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma and NTPC were among the gainers.

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tanked in early trade on Thursday, dragged by a decline in heavyweight stocks Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and spiralling conflict in the Middle East.

The BSE Sensex tumbled 1,264.2 points to 83,002.09 in early trade. The NSE Nifty slumped 345.3 points to 25,451.60.

From the 30 Sensex firms, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Maruti, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were the major laggards. JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma and NTPC were among the gainers.

"India is seeing strong FII net outflows and needs to do more on the policy front to make expensive markets attractive to global capital flows. RBI MPC meets next week but is expected to stay conservative. At best, we can expect a policy stance change to a more dovish outlook. Things are not rosy for Indian markets, but the primary market frenzy continues unabated. Caution amid volatility,” said Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert.

Experts highlighted that globally, markets are witnessing a shift after the Fed rate cut announcements, rising geopolitical tensions and foreign investors are pulling money out of Indian markets to invest in other markets like China are other reasons for selling pressure.

In Asian markets, Hong Kong traded lower while Tokyo quoted in the positive territory. Markets in mainland China will be closed for the rest of the week due to the holiday. The US markets ended marginally higher on Wednesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹5,579.35 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.15 per cent to $74.75 a barrel.

"In Tuesday's trade, FIIs were net sellers of ₹5,579 crore, while crude oil prices surged above $70 per barrel amid escalating tensions in the Middle East," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

The BSE benchmark dipped 33.49 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 84,266.29 on Tuesday. The Nifty ended marginally lower by 13.95 points or 0.05 per cent to 25,796.90. Equity markets were closed on Wednesday for Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti.

With inputs from agencies.

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