Stock market turmoil worsens on crude, West Asia fears, Sensex closes 1,456 pts down

MUMBAI: The turmoil in the Indian stock markets continued on Tuesday as both benchmark indices closed sharply lower amid rising concerns over the escalating tensions in West Asia, elevated crude oil prices and weakness in the Indian rupee against the US dollar. The NSE Nifty 50 index closed at 23,379.55, down by 436.30 points or 1.83 per cent, while the BSE Sensex ended at 74,559.24, registering a decline of 1,456.04 points or 1.92 per cent.

Market experts said that domestic equities remained under pressure due to record lows in the rupee, rising crude prices and continued foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows. Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, said, “Domestic equities remained under pressure, with the rupee weakening to record lows amid rising crude oil prices linked to escalating tensions in West Asia, along with FII outflows”.

He added that the decline in markets was broad-based and led by IT and realty stocks. According to him, IT stocks underperformed due to growing concerns around AI-driven pricing pressure and possible disruption following recent enterprise adoption initiatives by OpenAI.

Nair also noted that investors are awaiting the upcoming domestic CPI data to assess the spillover impact of the ongoing US-Iran conflict on inflation and the economy.

Sector-wise, almost all major indices on the NSE witnessed heavy selling pressure. Nifty Realty declined by more than 4 per cent, while Nifty IT fell by over 3 per cent. Nifty Consumer Durables dropped 3.59 per cent, Nifty Auto declined 2.28 per cent and Nifty Media slipped 2.77 per cent.

In the commodities market, Brent crude oil prices remained elevated and were trading at USD 107 per barrel at the time of filing this report, raising concerns for import-dependent economies like India. Gold prices for 24 karat stood at Rs 1,53,596 per 10 grams, while silver prices were at Rs 2,76,303 per kg.

Global geopolitical tensions also weighed on investor sentiment after US President Donald Trump on Monday rejected Iran’s peace proposal and said the ceasefire remained on “life support”. Speaking from the Oval Office during a maternal healthcare event, Trump termed Iran’s proposal “a piece of garbage” and said it was unacceptable.

Asian markets showed mixed trends on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed marginally higher by 0.4 per cent at 62,683, while Singapore’s Straits Times gained 0.07 per cent to close at 4,946. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended lower by 0.20 per cent at 26,353, while Taiwan’s weighted index gained 0.26 per cent to close at 41,898. South Korea’s Kospi index declined sharply by 2.34 per cent to end at 7,643. (ANI)