Indian equity markets ended lower on Tuesday, weighed down by escalating tensions in the Middle East and concerns over rising crude oil prices, which added to inflationary worries and dampened investor sentiment.
After a muted opening, both benchmark indices briefly traded in positive territory before succumbing to sustained selling pressure through the session. The BSE Sensex declined by 212.85 points, closing at 81,583.30, while the NSE Nifty fell 93.10 points to end at 24,853.40. The Sensex touched an intraday low of 81,427 during the day’s trade.
Market participants remained cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision, with geopolitical developments also casting a shadow. US President Donald Trump’s sharp warning to Iran amid heightened Middle East tensions added to the nervousness in global markets.
“The benchmark equity index experienced moderate losses amid the rising risk of escalation in the Middle East, ahead of the FOMC meeting,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. He noted that a sharp uptick in Brent crude prices posed fresh headwinds for India, which remains heavily dependent on oil imports.
The broader market reflected a similar trend. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices declined by 0.79 per cent and 0.82 per cent, respectively, underlining weakness across segments.
Sectoral performance remained subdued, with IT being the sole gainer. Pharma and metal stocks bore the brunt of the selling, with the Nifty Pharma index falling 1.89 per cent and the Metal index shedding 1.43 per cent. Other sectors, including consumer durables, oil and gas, realty, auto, energy, FMCG, and media, closed with losses of up to 1 per cent.
Among the Sensex constituents, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Eicher Motors, and Nestle India emerged as the top laggards. On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki, NTPC, TCS, and HCL Tech registered modest gains and offered some support to the indices.
Sundar Kewat, Head of Research at Ashika Institutional Equity, observed that persistent concerns over crude oil are fueling inflation fears in India, the world’s second-largest oil importer. “Investors are now eyeing the Federal Reserve’s rate decision on Wednesday, which will likely have a significant bearing on global market sentiment,” he added.
Meanwhile, the rupee weakened by 18 paise to close at 86.22 against the US dollar, tracking risk-off sentiment due to the escalating Israel-Iran conflict.
(IANS)
