13 August,2026 10:39 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Image. File pic.
The elevated crude oil prices, amid the lingering geopolitical uncertainties, continued to weigh on the investor sentiment and the domestic equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Thursday.
The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 192.52 points or 0.25 per cent to 77,773.83 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty tanked 100.30 points or 0.41 per cent to 24,335.40.
"The market is likely to continue along the consolidation phase and sideways movements in the near-term. The tailwind for the market is the strong fundamentals coming from robust growth and earnings momentum which , in turn, is getting support from sustained liquidity flows from domestic investors. High frequency indicators like GST collections, freight, auto sales and credit growth are big positives that can surprise growth and earnings on the upside," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments said.
On Wednesday, the Sensex shed 187.90 points, or 0.24 per cent, to settle at 77,966.35, while the Nifty slipped 35.75 points, or 0.15 per cent, to end at 24,435.95, dragged down by the crude oil prices and offloading in Tata Group stocks following the resignation of Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran.
From the Sensex pack, Eternal, InterGlobe Aviation, Tech Mahindra, Bharat Electronics and Bharti Airtel were among the major gainers in the morning trade. UltraTech Cement, Titan, Reliance Industries, Infosys, Power Grid, were among the major laggards in the initial trade. Tata Group stock Titan was trading 1.63 per cent lower in the initial dealings.
According to news agency PTI, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 0.82 per cent lower at USD 88.25 per barrel, while Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,002.50 crore on Wednesday.
"The main headwind continues to be the elevated crude prices and the uncertainty regarding the crude price trends. The ideal investment strategy at this juncture is to remain invested and continuing to invest systematically," Vijayakumar said.
The Asian equity markets were all trading in positive territory, with South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng quoting higher.
(With inputs from PTI)
