Sensex Declines 247 Points, Nifty Trades With Marginal Gains As Renewed Iran-US Tensions Weigh On Investor Sentiment

The domestic stock market traded mixed on Monday, with the 30-share BSE Sensex slipping while the NSE Nifty 50 edged slightly higher.

After a three-day trading break, the Sensex opened 45 points lower at 77,055 compared to its previous close of 77,100. In early trade, the benchmark declined as much as 247 points, or 0.32 percent, to 76,853.

In contrast, the Nifty 50 opened 5 points higher at 24,061 against its previous close of 24,056. The index later climbed to 24,110, up 54 points from the previous close.

Market breadth remained weak. Of the 3,148 stocks traded on the National Stock Exchange, 1,317 advanced while 1,713 declined.

Among the gainers, pharmaceutical stocks dominated. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories led the Nifty 50 gainers with a rise of over 4.41 percent, followed by Cipla, which gained 3.20 percent. Sun Pharma also featured among the top gainers.

Metal stocks also traded higher, with Hindalco, JSW Steel and Tata Steel advancing 1.44 percent, 1.44 percent and 1.09 percent, respectively.

On the losing side, Adani Enterprises emerged as the biggest laggard, declining 2.32 percent.

Automobile stocks dominated the losers' list. Eicher Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki fell 1.53 percent, 1.42 percent, 1 percent, 0.92 percent and 0.47 percent, respectively.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Pharma was the top performer, rising more than 1.74 percent, while Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom was the biggest loser, falling 1.42 percent.

The mixed market performance came despite positive cues such as slower foreign portfolio investor (FPI) selling and easing momentum in the semiconductor-driven rally across other emerging markets. However, renewed tensions between Iran and the United States, along with concerns over a weak monsoon, continued to weigh on investor sentiment.