Sensex falls over 500 points, Nifty slips 0.70 pc as fresh West Asia tensions weigh on markets

MUMBAI: Domestic equity markets ended lower on Monday as fresh geopolitical tensions in West Asia weighed on investor sentiment, triggering broad-based selling across sectors. The NSE Nifty 50 index closed at 23,382.60, down 165.15 points or 0.70 per cent, while the BSE Sensex settled at 74,267.34, falling 508.40 points or 0.68 per cent.

Market experts said recent US strikes and escalating cross-border hostilities concerning Israel and Lebanon have increased geopolitical uncertainty, leading investors to adopt a risk-off approach.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, said, “Recent US strikes and the escalation in cross-border hostilities between Israel and Lebanon have exerted selling pressure on equity markets, reflecting heightened geopolitical uncertainty and a shift towards risk-off sentiment.”

However, he noted that as the conflict has entered its fourth month, market participants are increasingly expecting some form of diplomatic progress in the near future. Nair also said that on the domestic front, the resumption of India-US trade negotiations focused on an interim trade agreement could provide support to market sentiment going forward.

Sector-wise, most indices on the NSE ended in negative territory. Nifty FMCG emerged as the worst-performing sector, falling 2.30 per cent, followed by Nifty PSU Bank which declined 1.85 per cent and Nifty Auto which lost 1.70 per cent. Nifty Private Bank slipped 0.98 per cent, while Nifty Pharma declined 0.54 per cent.

A few sectors, however, managed to end higher despite the broader weakness. Nifty IT surged 2.66 per cent, Nifty Media gained 1.37 per cent and Nifty Metal advanced 0.49 per cent.

Meanwhile, Brent crude oil prices rose more than 2 per cent and were trading at USD 93.82 per barrel at the time of filing this report. In the precious metals market, gold prices moderated marginally to Rs 1,54,830 per 10 grams for 24-karat gold. Silver prices, however, edged higher to Rs 2,67,810 per kilogram.

Among Asian markets, sentiment remained largely positive. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained more than 1 per cent to close at 67,005. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.86 per cent to 25,400, while Taiwan’s weighted index advanced 1.33 per cent to 45,337. South Korea’s KOSPI index emerged as one of the strongest performers in the region, rising more than 3 per cent to close at 8,788. (ANI)