Indian benchmark equity indices extended their losses on Tuesday, with the Sensex tumbling more than 560 points and the Nifty closing near the 24,000 mark. Investor sentiment remained under pressure after escalating tensions in the Persian Gulf, triggered by intensified US-Iran attacks, pushed crude oil prices to a one-month high and sparked broad-based selling across sectors.
The BSE Sensex settled at 77,054.94, down 561.46 points or 0.72 per cent, while the NSE Nifty50 ended at 24,052.05, declining 158.95 points or 0.66 per cent. During the session, the Sensex touched an intraday low of 77,001.48 against its previous close of 77,616.40, while the Nifty slipped to a low of 24,023.70.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Realty, PSU Bank, Auto and Financial Services were the biggest laggards, each falling more than 1 per cent. The pharmaceutical sector bucked the trend, with the Nifty Pharma index gaining over 1 per cent.
On the BSE, only a handful of stocks finished in positive territory, including Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, TCS, Tata Steel, Adani Ports and Eternal. On the losing side, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Asian Paints, Power Grid, Bharat Electronics, Larsen & Toubro and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the major drags on the indices.
In the commodities market, Brent crude was trading at USD 86.59 per barrel, while WTI crude hovered around USD 80.59 per barrel at the time of reporting. Brent crude futures for September delivery stood at USD 85.92 per barrel as of 08:00 GMT, their highest level since June 15.
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Gold prices, meanwhile, touched a two-week low earlier in the day as investors awaited key US inflation data for clues on the Federal Reserve's interest rate outlook. However, bullion recovered during the session, with spot gold rising 0.8 per cent to USD 4,031.43 per ounce by 0611 GMT, while US gold futures for August delivery also gained 0.8 per cent to USD 4,037.80. At the time of reporting, gold was trading at USD 4,022.59 per ounce.
Commenting on the market movement, Riyank Arora, Associate Vice President – HNI & Derivatives at Hedged.in, said the decline was largely the result of profit booking after the recent rally. "Indian equity markets ended lower today as profit booking emerged across key sectors, leading to a broad-based decline in benchmark indices. Despite the weakness, the overall market structure remains positive as long as key support levels continue to hold," he said.
Arora added that investors could continue to adopt a buy-on-dips strategy while remaining disciplined about risk management.
"Today's decline appears to be driven by profit booking after the recent rally. As long as the benchmark indices remain above their immediate support levels, the broader trend stays constructive. Traders should keep a close watch on key support zones while following a buy-on-dips approach," he said. Market analyst Vipin Dixena said the Nifty was currently trading in a range-bound pattern with a mildly negative bias.
"The 24,025 level has emerged as an important near-term support. If Nifty manages to hold above this zone, it could stabilise and attempt a recovery. However, a decisive break below this level may trigger fresh selling pressure. On the upside, 24,136 remains the first key resistance that bulls need to reclaim to improve the market outlook," he said.
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