02 September,2026 10:04 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Image. File pic.
The domestic equity benchmark indices tanked in the early trade on Wednesday mirroring the Asian markets, amid a sharp spike in the global crude oil prices due to the renewed tensions between USA and Iran, that dampened investor sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 788.52 points to 76,155.76 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty slumped 269 points to 23,786.80 in the initial trade.
"Technically, the Nifty remains vulnerable below 24,150. A break of 23,950 could trigger further weakness toward 23,800, while a sustained move above 24,150-24,200 would ease selling pressure. Near-term direction will largely hinge on crude prices and developments in the Middle East," Rajesh Palviya, Head of Research, Axis Direct said.
Among the Sensex constituents, only three stocks were in the green with the rest 27 trading lower. Adani Ports, Sun Pharma and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the only gainers during the initial trade. InterGlobe Aviation, Asian Paints, Eternal, Bharat Electronics and Bajaj Finserv were the major laggards in the early deals.
"We believe the intraday market structure is volatile and directionless, therefore, level-based trading would be the best strategy for day traders," Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities said.
On Tuesday the 30-share BSE Sensex dipped 12.99 points, or 0.02 per cent, to settle at 76,944.28. The 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 24.60 points, or 0.10 per cent, to end at 24,055.80.
According to V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments, the market is delicately poised between domestic tailwinds and external headwinds. On the domestic front, the better than expected Q1 GDP growth of 7.8 per cent, higher GST collections, stronger credit growth and automobile sales and improving prospects for earnings growth are big positives for the market.
"Unfortunately, the headwinds also are equally strong. The escalation of the US-Iran conflict and the consequent 5 per cent spurt in Brent crude overnight to USD 96 is a sentiment negative. However, this is not a big threat since our CAD is running at only 0.5 per cent and forex reserves are ample at USD 730 billion," he said.
According to news agency PTI, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.99 per cent at USD 95.59 per barrel in futures trade while Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 1,143.38 crore on a net basis on Tuesday.
"The big threat is the rising bond yields in the US. The macro construct in the US indicates further hardening of the bond yields. If the 10-year yield touches 5 per cent that has the potential to trigger a big correction in equity markets globally. Therefore, this is the macro indicator to watch closely. The near-term market trend will depend on which of these forces, the tailwinds or headwinds, will emerge stronger," Vijayakumar added.
"Global cues remain cautious, with Wall Street extending its decline overnight and Asian markets opening lower," Palviya noted.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index all traded lower.
(With inputs from PTI)
