Indian equity markets signalled a weak start in Thursday’s pre-open session, extending the cautious tone seen in the previous trading day as investors reacted to rising crude oil prices, geopolitical tensions in West Asia and continued foreign fund outflows.
The BSE Sensex started the session around 76k, crashing more than 800 points, while the NSE Nifty50 opened trading near 23,650, tanking a little over 200 points, as of 9:15 AM.
The muted start follows a sharp sell-off in the previous session when escalating geopolitical tensions and a surge in crude oil prices unsettled investor sentiment.
On the 30-share Sensex, Tech M, Reliance, and HCL Tech emerged among the only gainers in the session. On the other hand, the laggards were dominated by Eternal, IndiGo, M&M, Titan, and L&T.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Microcap250 led with losses of 1.91 per cent. Sectorally, all the indices traded in red, with the Auto index standing out with a decline of 2.65 per cent.
At around 9:03 AM in the pre-open hour, the Sensex was quoted at 76,549.31, down 314.40 points or 0.41 per cent. The NSE benchmark stood at 23,685.10, lower by 183.15 points or 0.77 per cent, indicating a gap-down opening for domestic benchmarks.
Markets Slide Nearly 2 Per Cent In Previous Session
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended Wednesday’s trade sharply lower, retreating after a brief recovery in the earlier session. The fall was triggered by a spike in global crude oil prices and persistent foreign institutional investor selling.
The Sensex plunged 1,342.27 points, or 1.72 per cent, to close at 76,863.71. During the session, the index dropped as much as 1,446.72 points, or 1.84 per cent, to touch an intra-day low of 76,759.26.
The Nifty declined 394.75 points, or 1.63 per cent, to settle at 23,866.85.
Market breadth remained negative on the BSE, where 2,380 stocks declined, while 1,881 advanced and 153 remained unchanged.
Geopolitical Tensions And Oil Prices Weigh On Sentiment
Investor confidence remained fragile as the ongoing conflict in West Asia continued to roil global energy markets and push volatility higher.
Ajit Mishra, SVP – Research at Religare Broking Ltd, said investors remained cautious due to concerns about possible supply disruptions in crude oil, rising inflation risks and the broader impact on global economic momentum. Continued foreign institutional investor selling and weakness in the rupee also dampened overall risk appetite.
