Sensex Drops 555 points, Nifty Loses 150 points at Open, Tracking Weak Asian, Wall Street equities; Oil Tops $90

Mumbai, July 20: Indian benchmark indices snapped the green streak to open sharply lower on Monday tracking weak Asian cues and fresh slump on Wall Street on Friday even as crude oil prices extended gains. U.S. forces struck Iran for a ninth consecutive day on Monday ​as the number of confirmed American military deaths in the renewed fighting rose to three and concerns grew over shipping through the ‌Strait of Hormuz.  

The BSE Sensex traded lower by 555.62 points, or 0.71 percent to 77,595.83 as of 9: 30 am, and the Nifty 50 slipped 153.45 points or 0.63 percent to 24,180.85 at 9:32 am. Despite today’s decline, market participants expect decent June-quarter earnings to support the market and limit the downside in today’s trade.  

Gainers & Losers 

ONGC was top Nifty 50 gainer today, surging 2 percent to LTP Rs 252.23 against previous close of Rs 247.29. Bharti Airtel climbed 1.4 percent to Rs 1,935.50 from Rs 1,908.80, JSW Steel gained 1.17 percent to Rs 1,251.80 versus Rs 1,237.30, SBI rose 1.14 percent to Rs 1,056.20 from Rs 1,044.30 and Coal India moved up by 1.13 percent to Rs 432.50 against Rs 427.65. 

Axis Bank tanked over 4 percent to Rs 1,264 from Rs 1,328.50, making it the top loser on the Sensex chart. HDFC Bank fell 4.82 percent to Rs 780.10 against Rs 819.60. Kotak Mahindra Bank declined 3.13 percent to Rs 377.75 from Rs 389.95, InterGlobe Aviation slid 1.59 percent to Rs 5,165 against Rs 5,248.50 and Shriram Finance declined 1.33 percent to Rs 1,021.10 from Rs 1,034.90. Private lenders were the major sectoral drag after rallying sharply after last week’s Q3 earnings. 

Broader Market & Sectoral Indices 

The broader market indices were nowhere in safe zone on open with Nifty 100 trading lower by 0.47 percent, Nifty 200 down 0.41 percent and Nifty 500 slipping 0.38 percent. There were no indices with gains across the broad market spectrum. Sectorally, Nifty PSU Bank jumped 1.59 percent, Nifty Oil & Gas rose 0.75 percent and Nifty Pharma gained 0.56 percent while Nifty Private Bank plunged 2.52 percent, Nifty Financial Services dropped 1.67 percent and Nifty Bank fell 1.36 percent. 

Asian Markets 

Asian markets traded mixed on Monday morning after big fall on Wall Street on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 tanked 4.03 percent to 64,141.12 as escalating conflict between Iran and US capped investors’ risk appetite. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index recovered from earlier losses to surge higher by 2.39 percent at 25,149.89 while Shanghai SSE Composite jumped 1.65 percent to 3,826.41. Pakistan’s KSE 100 Index lost 1.30 percent while Indonesia’s JSX Index and Malaysia’s KLSE Index advanced by less than 1 percent. 

Wall Street 

Wall Street ended lower on Friday with Dow Jones Industrial Average slipping 0.77 percent to 52,146.42. Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.40 percent to 25,520.24 and S&P 500 declined 1.01 percent to 7,457.69. All three major indices closed in red for third straight week. 

Oil Prices 

Oil prices jumped to fresh multi-month highs in Monday trade as geopolitical tensions rose between Iran and the US following President Donald Trump’s military strikes on Iran earlier in the day, their ninth attacks in nine days. Brent crude futures traded above 90 dollars per barrel, the first time since June 11. Gold prices extended losses towards a two-week low on Monday as oil rally fuel inflation fears. 

Iran War 

The Iran-US conflict entered its ninth consecutive day after US Central Command on Monday launched a new wave of airstrikes against Iran’s ability to target commercial shipping in Strait of Hormuz. At least three American military personnel were confirmed killed in action, taking total US death toll since began fighting nearly five months ago to 17. Iranian’s Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed an attack on a site in eastern Syria and Kuwait reported second day strike on its desalination plant. 

Indian Markets on Friday 

Indian benchmark indices ended sharply higher on Friday tracking strength in IT, banking and auto stocks despite simmering crude oil prices and geopolitical tensions in Middle East. The BSE Sensex jumped 964.58 points, or 1.25 percent to 78,151.45 while the Nifty 50 climbed 261.55 points, or 1.09 percent to reclaim 24,300 mark at 24,334.30.