Sensex ends at 3-month low, Nifty settles at 5-month low amid elevated oil prices, US-Iran conflict

The domestic benchmark indices declined sharply on Tuesday amid high domestic inflation print surging oil prices and escalating tensions between US and IranThe 30share BSE Sensex plunged 77794 points or 104 per cent to settle at a threemonth low of 7400382 The 50share NSE Nifty tanked 27950 points or 119 per cent to end at 2311860 a fivemonth low since April 6Indian benchmark indices witnessed a highly volatile session on 15 September with the market opening on a positive note before witnessing aggressive selling at higher levels The Nifty reversed sharply from the dayrsquos high of 23592 falling more than 550 points intraday and closing below the 23150 level The selloff was driven by a combination of adverse macroeconomic factors including crude oil prices sustaining above USD 105 per barrel raising concerns over inflation and Indias import bill higher bond yields and a sharp depreciation in the Indian rupee which further weakened investor sentiment Pabitro Mukherjee Deputy Vice President Research Bajaj Broking saidAccording to Siddhartha Khemka Head of Research Wealth Management Motilal Oswal Financial Services Indias retail inflation accelerated to a 20month high of 482 per cent in August raising concerns over the scope for further monetary easing and increasing expectations of a tighter RBI policy stanceThe rise in inflation and crude prices pushed the 10year Gsec yield up 7bps to 709 per cent a fourmonth high further raising concerns over a tighter domestic rate environment he saidGainers and laggardsAmong the 30 Sensex firms IT stocks were the major winners with HCL Tech Infosys Tech Mahindra and Tata Consultancy Services TCS all gaining HCL Tech gained 398 per cent Infosys jumped 364 per cent Tech Mahindra climbed 231 per cent and TCS advanced 218 per cent HDFC Bank was also among the gainers with its shares rising 127 per centBharat Electronics InterGlobe Aviation Titan Bajaj Finserv Adani Ports Mahindra amp Mahindra and State Bank of India were among the laggards Bharat Electronics stock lost 6 per cent from the previous closeMid and smallcap stocks lagged benchmark indices while most sectors closed sharply lower However IT stocks outperformed as comments suggesting slower AI development eased concerns over the rapid disruption of traditional IT services In the near term sustained high oil prices and elevated bond yields may continue to pressure risk appetite though strong domestic fundamentals and value buying by local investors could help contain downside risks Vinod Nair Head of Research Geojit Investments Limited saidOn Friday the Sensex dropped 12083 points or 016 per cent to end at 7478176 while the Nifty slipped 7970 points or 034 per cent to settle at 2339810On Monday the Indian stock exchanges were closed on account of Ganesh ChaturthiWeak global cuesAccording to PTI Brent crude the global oil benchmark jumped 189 per cent to USD 1077 per barrel On Friday Foreign Institutional Investors FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs 93090 croreDomestic markets remained under pressure extending their recent correction as elevated crude oil prices and rising global bond yields weighed on sentiment Investors stayed cautious ahead of key central bank meetings this week with growing expectations of further policy tightening by major economies Nair saidConcerns about a prolonged highinterestrate environment particularly in the US kept Treasury yields near multiyear highs and continued to dampen emerging market sentiment amid persistent foreign outflows he addedIn Asian markets South Koreas Kospi Japans Nikkei 225 index Shanghais SSE Composite index and Hong Kongs Hang Seng index all ended lowerWith inputs from PTI