Sensex Down 566 Points, Nifty Loses 0.8% In Early Trade After Heightened Geopolitical Concerns, Rupee Decline

Domestic stock market on Tuesday opened lower after weak performance of global markets due to renewed concerns on the war front and a steep decline in the rupee due to elevated oil prices.

The 30-share benchmark Sensex opened 0.21 percent lower at 77,103.72 points compared to the previous close of 77,269.40 points.

Similarly, Nifty 50 opened 0.27 percent lower at 24,052.60 points compared to the previous close of 24,119.30 points.

Out of the 3,108 stocks trading on the National Stock Exchange, 1,854 stocks were trading in red while 1,140 were in green.

During the early trade, Sensex further dropped to 76,649.25 points while Nifty weakened to 23,922.90 points.

At around 10.50 AM, the Sensex was trading at around 76,702 points while Nifty was hovering at around 23,942 points.

Elevated crude oil prices played a part in Tuesday’s weak show of the domestic markets. Global oil benchmark Brent Crude, though down almost 1 percent from yesterday’s levels, remained elevated at around $113 per barrel mark.

This has kept pressure high on the rupee, which hit its all-time low at 95.40 in early trade on Tuesday. The currency has already ended the previous two sessions at its lowest ever closing marks.

This year, the rupee has been among the worst-performing Asian currencies against the dollar.

The domestic markets also took cues from the weak performance of Asian markets. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was trading almost 1.4 percent lower.

However, Japan’s Nikkei climbed marginally by 0.3 percent while South Korea’s Kospi surged over 5 percent on the back of semiconductor stocks.

However, geopolitical concerns have again weakened investor sentiment. Amid a stalemate between Iran and the United States, the former has again stepped up attacks on the United Arab Emirates.

According to reports, Iran has also attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz after Donald Trump announced a plan to free stranded vessels in the waterway under his ‘Project Freedom’.