Indian stock benchmarks opened lower on Tuesday, marking the second straight session of declines in early trading. Both indices fell approximately 0.5 percent amid heightened geopolitical tensions.
Key Index Movements
The Sensex plunged as much as 0.62 percent, or 474 points, to an intraday low of 75,541. The Nifty traded at 23,689, down 0.53 percent or 126 points from the prior close.
At the opening bell, the Sensex started at 75,688.39, a drop of 0.43 percent or 326 points. The Nifty 50 began the day at 23,722.60, lower by 0.4 percent or 93 points.
Sector and Stock Performance
Sectors like IT, chemicals, realty, cement, and financials led the losses, each declining over 2 percent. Major laggards included Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS, HCL Tech, Wipro, SBI Life, HDFC Life, Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, and Bajaj Finance.
Only Nifty Metal, Nifty Oil & Gas, and Nifty PSU Bank sectors bucked the trend, trading in positive territory.
Commodity and Global Influences
Crude oil prices spiked, with Brent crude rising 1.09 percent to $105.35 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gaining 1.23 percent to $99.28 per barrel.
Asian markets showed mixed results: Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.48 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.31 percent, but South Korea’s KOSPI fell over 2 percent.
In the U.S., the S&P 500 closed 0.19 percent higher, while the Nasdaq ended 0.10 percent up.
