Sensex, Nifty slip over 1% amid West Asia unrest

Metro India News | mumbai

Indian stock markets fell sharply on Monday as escalating tensions in West Asia rattled investor sentiment. Both benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed over 1 per cent lower, dragged down by rising crude oil prices, weak global trends, and heavy foreign fund outflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 1,048.34 points, or 1.29 per cent, to end at 80,238.85, after plunging as much as 3.37 per cent in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty fell 312.95 points, or 1.24 per cent, to settle at 24,865.70, having tumbled over 2 per cent during the session.

Among Sensex constituents, InterGlobe Aviation, Larsen & Toubro, Adani Ports, Maruti, Asian Paints, and Bajaj Finserv were the biggest losers, while Bharat Electronics, Sun Pharma, and ITC recorded modest gains.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, surged 8.34 per cent to USD 78.95 per barrel following heightened geopolitical tensions. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a coordinated US-Israeli airstrike on Tehran over the weekend, prompting retaliatory missile attacks by Iran on Israel and neighboring Arab countries.

Asian markets were mostly lower, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down over 1 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index falling more than 2 per cent. Shanghai’s SSE Composite managed a modest gain, while South Korean markets were closed for a holiday. European markets opened sharply lower, and the US market had ended the previous session in red.

“Rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have unsettled global markets. Higher crude oil prices and a weakening rupee reflect fears of potential oil supply disruptions, which could fuel inflation and impact corporate margins, especially for energy- and chemical-dependent sectors,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Ltd. The India VIX also moved higher, indicating rising market uncertainty.