Indian stock markets continued a bad streak as the West Asia conflict escalates, with the Sensex and Nifty dropping sharply on Wednesday.
The benchmark BSE Sensex opened at 76,471.32, down 473 points, or 0.6 per cent, and the Nifty 50 index dropped by 197 points, starting at 23,858.
The US and Iran exchanged strikes overnight, intensifying fears of further supply disruptions from the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude was up 0.76 per cent to $95.37 per barrel, increasing investor fears about India’s rising import bills.
Rising global bond yields further fuelled the fall. A sell-off of bonds from key countries including the US and Japan on Tuesday has sent government borrowing costs soaring. Investors fear oil-driven inflation will force central banks to raise interest rates.
The BSE Sensex plummeted by 809 points, or 1.05 per cent, to 76,135.72 from a previous close of 76,944.28. Similarly, the Nifty 50 index tumbled by 269 points or 1.1 per cent, to 23,786.80 from a previous close of 24,055.80.
The automobile, paint, and aviation sectors faced the heat as oil prices are expected to directly affect the operating margins of these companies. The laggards from the Sensex included Mahindra & Mahindra, Indigo, Maruti, Asian Paints, Bharat Electronics and UltraTech Cement. Adani Ports, Power Grid, ITC, NTPC and Sun Pharma were the winners.
In the Nifty 50 index, the laggards included HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Infosys.
Coal India was a clear winner among the lot, rising by around 4 per cent. CIL’s total coal supplies rose 5.5 per cent year-on-year to 60.60 million tonnes (MT) in August FY 27, up from 57.40 MT in the same month last year. The state-owned entity also filed papers for a 10 per cent stake in the Mahanadi Coalfields IPO. Following the regulatory filing, brokerages highlighted the strong demand for coal, causing the stock to rise.
