Fresh off the Holi break, India’s benchmark indices tumbled at open, hammered by West Asia’s flare-up between US-Israel and Iran. BSE Sensex gapped down 1,710 points to 78,528.82 from 80,238.85. Nifty opened at 24,388.80, minus 476.9 points from 24,865.70.
By 9:27 AM, Sensex traded at 78,488.25 after a 2.18% (1,750.60-point) fall. Nifty was down 2.19% (543.50 points) at 24,322.20. Elevated oil costs and risk-off sentiment worldwide set the tone.
Nifty indices traded red bar IT. Sensex constituents: 26 down, 4 up. Midcap and Smallcap dropped 2.7% and 2.8%.
Nifty Auto, Metals saw sharp declines; IT rose. Nifty50 losers led by L&T, Tata Steel, IndiGo, Shriram Finance, UltraTech Cement, JSW Steel. Winners: Coal India, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, BEL, TCS, HCL Tech.
Sensex gainers: Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, TCS, BEL. Decliners: L&T, Tata Steel, IndiGo, UltraTech Cement, Titan.
Global markets: Asia down third day running, Kospi -7% on Mideast tensions. US markets fell overall. Oil steady at ~$82/bbl post-Trump’s Hormuz assurance.
The session highlights vulnerability to external shocks. With oil’s premium pressuring inflation outlooks, focus shifts to policy pivots and de-escalation hopes in the region for market stabilization.