Indian equity benchmarks opened sharply lower on Monday amid escalating tensions in the Middle East following US airstrikes on three major nuclear sites in Iran — Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 705.65 points to 81,702.52 in early trade, while the NSE Nifty dropped 182.85 points to 24,929.55. Major laggards included Infosys, HCL Tech, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, and Eicher Motors.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said, “Though the US bombing has worsened the West Asia crisis, the market impact is expected to be limited. The possibility of the Hormuz Strait closing remains a threat, but historically it has never been closed.”
Asian markets showed mixed performance, with South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng trading lower, while Shanghai’s SSE Composite edged higher. US markets closed mostly lower on Friday.
Global oil prices rose sharply, with Brent crude climbing 1.69% to USD 78.31 per barrel.
Despite Monday’s weakness, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers on Friday, purchasing equities worth ₹7,940.70 crore.
On Friday, the Sensex had rallied 1,046.30 points (1.29%) to close at 82,408.17, and the Nifty rose 319.15 points (1.29%) to 25,112.40.
Be the first to comment