The Sensex slid as much as 200 points to an intraday low of 78,298.92 in early trade, before clawing back to trade in the green, while the Nifty fell as much as 59 points to a morning low of 24,511.10 before similarly recovering.
The initial weakness stemmed from a third straight session of rising Brent crude, which climbed over 1 per cent to around $84.4–84.5 a barrel after Iran signalled no immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, compounded by fresh attacks on Gulf shipping over the weekend.
The recovery was aided by weaker-than-expected US jobs data, which eased concerns over a near-term Federal Reserve rate hike, a development seen as broadly positive for emerging markets such as India.
Foreign institutional investors, who bought equities worth ₹480.24 crore on Friday, have continued purchasing through most of August so far, lending further support.
Stock-specific moves reflected an earnings season nearing its close. Oil India surged after posting more than a threefold jump in quarterly profit, while Titan and Hero MotoCorp advanced on strong June-quarter results, with Hero's management outlining aggressive expansion plans.
On the other hand, Power Finance Corporation fell sharply as brokerages flagged weak net interest income, and Ola Electric slipped on soft sales despite a narrower loss.
Asian markets traded broadly higher, with Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's Kospi each advancing over 1 per cent, offering a constructive backdrop, even as uncertainty over US-Iran tensions and the final leg of earnings season kept investors watchful through the week.
