31 August,2026 10:01 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Image. File pic.
The domestic equity benchmark indices declined in the early trade on Monday tracking their Asian counterparts, as renewed tensions in West Asia that caused a spike in crude oil prices and concerns around high inflation data in the US, weighed on investor sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 255.58 points or 0.33 per cent to 77,008.93 in early deals, while the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 114.15 points or 0.47 per cent at 24,061.50.
"Overall, the market remains non-directional with a weak near-term bias. Given the prevailing uncertainty, level-based trading remains the preferred strategy for short-term traders, with 24,000 and 24,350 acting as the key support and resistance levels for the Nifty," Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities said.
On Friday, driven by IT stocks, the Sensex surged 330.92 points, or 0.43 per cent, to settle at 77,264.51, while the Nifty gained 84.80 points, or 0.35 per cent, to end at 24,175.65.
Among the Sensex constituents only HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel shares were trading higher in early deals. HDFC Bank stock was trading nearly 2 per cent higher during the early deals. Infosys, Tata Steel, NTPC, InterGlobe Aviation and Bajaj Finance, were the major laggards in the initial trade.
"Geopolitical tensions have added to the risk-off mood. US strikes on Iranian rocket launchers near the Strait of Hormuz were followed by Iranian retaliation against American airbases in Jordan. Brent crude surged over 2 per cent to above USD 90 a barrel in early Asian trade. Higher crude prices could add pressure on the rupee and margins of crude-sensitive sectors such as autos, paints and aviation," Rajesh Palviya, Head of Research, Axis Direct said.
According to news agency PTI, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 1.34 per cent at USD 89.28 per barrel in futures trade, while Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,039.80 crore on a net basis on Friday.
"This week's trading begins with the market facing a few headwinds. From the global equity market perspective, the sentiments have turned slightly negative following the Fed chief Kevin Warsh's statement that if inflation persists at rates higher than the Fed's long-term target, 'we have work to do'. The market has taken this as an indication of a rate hike in the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for September 15-16. The consequent rise in bond yields is negative for equity markets," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments said.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were all trading in the negative territory.
(With inputs from PTI)
