Sensex, Nifty Crash After Lower Open as Asia Slides, Oil Rises, Middle East Tensions Escalate

As of 9:33 am, the Sensex was at 73,113.06, down 596.63 points, or 0.81%, from its previous close of 73,709.69. The Nifty 50 stood at 22,561.45 as of 9:34 am, down 249.90 points, or 1.1%, from its previous close of 22,811.35. The index opened at 22,687.75, touched a low of 22,557.95 and has remained under pressure since.

Asian stocks traded lower on Thursday morning, with the Hang Seng down 2.12% and the Kospi down 1.81%. Brent crude rose 1.42% to $110.36 a barrel, adding to concerns over India’s import bill.

Tensions in the Middle East have also risen, as the US ordered non-emergency diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia amid Houthi strikes and Israel conducted a large “power projection” sortie near Iran’s border. India VIX, the market’s fear gauge, jumped 5.45% to 16.53 from 15.68.

Gainers and Losers

Selling was broad-based, with only two Nifty 50 stocks trading in the green. Eternal Ltd (ETERNAL), a day after reporting a 92.3% rise in quarterly profit, was the top gainer, rising 0.77% to a last traded price (LTP) of ₹314.75 from its previous close of ₹312.35, a gain of ₹2.40. The stock opened at ₹312 and touched an intraday high of ₹317.40. Axis Bank Ltd (AXISBANK) edged up 0.11% to ₹1,211.30 from ₹1,210, a gain of ₹1.30.

Nestle India Ltd (NESTLEIND) was the biggest loser, falling 2.83% to ₹1,189.30 from its previous close of ₹1,223.90, a loss of ₹34.60, after touching an intraday low of ₹1,188.10. Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (POWERGRID) declined 2.58% to ₹245.65 from ₹252.15, a loss of ₹6.50, while Coal India Ltd (COALINDIA) fell 2.28% to ₹398.20 from ₹407.50, a loss of ₹9.30. Hindalco Industries Ltd (HINDALCO) slipped 2.28% to ₹872.50 from ₹892.85, a loss of ₹20.35, and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) lost 2.16% to ₹363.20 from ₹371.20, a loss of ₹8. Metal and power stocks were among the heaviest drags, with Hindalco, Coal India and Power Grid all falling more than 2%.

Broad Market & Sectoral Indices

No broad market index traded in the green, and the selling was sharper in the mid-cap space. The Nifty Midcap 50 fell 1.62% to 16,233.65 from its previous close of 16,500.20, the Nifty Midcap 100 declined 1.62% to 56,632.30 from 57,565.85 and the Nifty Midcap 150 shed 1.60% to 20,861.65 from 21,200.25. The Nifty 100 (-1.15% to 23,490.20), Nifty 200 (-1.24% to 12,940.80) and Nifty 500 (-1.26% to 21,562.85) fell by less, though the mid-cap indices were down about 1.6% against the 1.1% fall in the Nifty 50.

Every sectoral index was lower too, led by the Nifty Metal, which dropped 2.10% to 11,610.60, the Nifty Chemicals, down 2.01% at 26,630.90, and the Nifty Cement, down 1.86% at 13,231.90. The Nifty Private Bank (-0.43% to 26,787.40), the Nifty IT (-0.45% to 32,275.95) and the Nifty REITs & Realty (-0.57% to 1,805.90) were the most resilient.

Asian Markets on Thursday

Asian stocks fell on Thursday morning, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sliding 2.12%, or 501.45 points, to 23,150.42 and South Korea’s Kospi losing 1.81%, or 103.85 points, to 5,631.81. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.88%, or 566.72 points, to 64,054.52 and Australia’s ASX 200 lost 0.41% to 8,795, while Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore’s Straits Times index were marginally lower, the Shanghai Composite declined 0.99% to 3,676.32, the Shenzhen index dropped 1.66% to 11,510.35 and the SGX-CNBC China Growth index slid 2.57% to 1,325.56. According to Bloomberg, Asian stocks faced downward pressure or traded mixed on lingering concerns over the sustainability of artificial intelligence (AI) spending, mixed megacap tech earnings and geopolitical uncertainty in the Gulf.

Wall Street on Wednesday

US stocks closed higher on Wednesday, with all major indices in the green. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.05%, or 278.04 points, to 26,702.86, the S&P 500 gained 0.58% to 7,757.17, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.69%, or 360.21 points, to 52,856.09. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 1.13%, the NYSE index rose 0.26%, the small-cap Russell 2000 added 0.27%, the transport index gained 0.19% and the utilities index advanced 0.28%, while the VIX volatility index fell 3.64% to 16.68.

Middle East War

The US State Department ordered non-emergency government employees and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia and plans to withdraw family members from several other missions in the region, US officials told Reuters. The order followed attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen on Saudi targets, in which at least one person was killed and eight injured at a civilian airport in Dammam, while two people died in a drone attack on an oil field, and Washington had earlier returned some diplomats to the region after many were pulled out when Tehran attacked US facilities following the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran in late February. Axios reported that dozens of Israeli fighter jets flew on Monday as far as the Iranian border, more than 800 miles from Israel, before turning back, on the same day US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met Netanyahu in Israel, with Israel describing it as a training exercise meant to project power and deter Iran ahead of its October 27 elections, although some US sources felt Israel hoped Iran would fire at the aircraft and give it grounds to strike.

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei had allowed scientists to move towards a nuclear weapon and that he had directed the Israeli military, the Mossad and security agencies to work to overthrow the regime in Tehran, even as Axios reported that US President Donald Trump decided against his proposal for a major new operation before the elections and an Israeli official said military chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir will not allow unjustified activity that could undermine the vote.

Crude Oil Prices

Oil prices rose on Thursday, with Brent crude gaining $1.54, or 1.42%, to $110.36 a barrel, keeping it above the $110 mark, and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude advancing $1.16, or 1.19%, to $98.31. Murban crude, the Middle East benchmark, edged up 0.14%, or $0.15, to $110.19. Gasoline rose 0.87%, heating oil gained 1.28% and natural gas slipped 0.54%, so most of the energy complex moved higher. High crude oil prices could put pressure on inflation and the import bill in India, which relies heavily on oil imports, and the rising tension in the Gulf adds to the risk to supply.

Previous Close of Indian Markets

Indian markets closed lower for a second straight session on Wednesday, after the Dussehra holiday on Tuesday, extending Monday’s losses of 876.37 points in the Sensex and 257.20 points in the Nifty, with the Sensex falling 143.21 points, or 0.19%, to 73,709.69 and the Nifty declining 77.60 points, or 0.34%, to 22,811.35. Both benchmarks had risen about 1% in early trade on gains in IT stocks and Reliance Industries as the Jio Platforms IPO opened, but the optimism faded as elevated crude oil prices and concerns over their impact on India’s economy turned sentiment cautious. Market breadth was firmly negative, with 3,361 stocks declining on the NSE against 884 advancing and 157 unchanged, while the Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap indices fell more than 2% each. The Nifty IT index rose 2.9% and was the standout performer, with Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and HCL Technologies among the key gainers on the Nifty, while UltraTech Cement also advanced and Bajaj Finance and Eicher Motors were among the losers.

Sources:

• BSE and NSE