• Source:JND

Stock Market Today: The key domestic equity indices--Sensex, Nifty--crashed by over a per cent in early trade amid a spike in crude prices due to no clarity around the opening up of the Strait of Hormuz. 30 share BSE Sensex started the session with a huge gap down of 430 points to 74,807.97 as compared to last day's closing of 75,237.99. The Index nosedived further to touch an early low at 74,341.27, down over 900 points.

Nifty50 opened at 23,482.20, down against the previous closing of 23,643.50. AT the time of writing, Sensex was trading at 74,364.96, down 873.03 points or 1.16 per cent. Nifty50 was quoted at 23,410.85, down 232.65 points or 0.98 per cent.

"The market is set to start the week on a weak note from global cues. Brent crude has spiked to $111 on absence of initiatives to open the Strait of Hormuz. Elevated crude may force another round of price hikes in petrol and diesel, which will have negative implications for inflation. The spike in the US 10-year bond yield to 4.62 % is another negative factor for EM equity markets. Rupee may further depreciate, aggravating the vicious cycle of rupee depreciation and FPI selling," said Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.

Some measures to strengthen the rupee are due and will likely be announced soon, he added.

Top Losers And Gainers

In early trade, except for Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, all other stocks from the Sensex basket were trading in negative territory, with Tata Steel, PowerGrid, Trent, SBIN, Adani Ports, Maruti, Titan, Mahindra And Mahindra, Ultratech Cement, Eternal, HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Indigo and NTPC being the top losers.

At the sectoral front, except for Nifty IT, all major sectoral indices were trading significantly lower. Nifty FMCG, Nifty Auto, Nifty Bank, and Nifty Fin Service were trading lower by 1.4 per cent to 1.8 per cent.

The broader market followed suit as well under massive selling pressure. Nifty 100, Nifty Midcap 100, Nifty Small Cap 100 and Nifty Next 50 were trading down up to 1.9 per cent.

"Indian equity markets opened with a sharp gap-down amid escalating geopolitical tensions and the absence of any positive progress in ongoing peace negotiations. The continued U.S.–Iran conflict and rising uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz have kept global risk sentiment under pressure, leading to broad-based weakness across sectors," said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money. 
 
"Crude oil prices remain elevated due to persistent geopolitical risk premiums and concerns over potential supply disruptions, continuing to weigh on inflation expectations and overall market sentiment. Meanwhile, the Indian rupee remains under pressure near the 96.1 level against the U.S. dollar amid elevated oil prices and cautious foreign flows," Ponmudi added. 


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