Sensex Drops 450 Points In Early Trade, Nifty Slips Below 23,100 As Oil Prices Surge On West Asia Tensions

Mumbai: Indian stock markets traded lower in early deals on Thursday as investors remained cautious due to rising geopolitical tensions in West Asia and a sharp jump in crude oil prices.

The Sensex declined over 450 points, or 0.62 percent, to touch an intraday low of 73,518 in early trade.

The Nifty also slipped more than 100 points, or 0.61 percent, to hit an intraday low of 23,072.

IT Stocks Lead Decline

IT stocks were the biggest drag on the market during the morning session.

The Nifty IT index fell more than 2 per cent. Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom, Nifty Cement and Nifty Auto were also among the major losing sectors.

Among Nifty 50 stocks, HCLTech fell over 3 per cent. Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS and Wipro also traded under pressure.

Trent, Eternal, Eicher Motors, Titan and Mahindra & Mahindra were among other major losers.

Pharma, Healthcare Stocks Gain

Despite the weak market mood, healthcare stocks showed some strength.

Nifty Pharma and Nifty500 Healthcare gained up to 0.50 per cent. Nifty Media was the top sectoral gainer, rising 0.78 per cent.

Crude Oil Prices Rise

Market experts said investors were worried about the latest escalation in the West Asia conflict.

Brent crude rose 2.54 per cent to USD 95.47 per barrel, while US WTI crude gained 4 per cent to USD 93.64 per barrel.

Higher oil prices may increase inflation pressure and affect interest rate expectations.

Global Markets Weak

Asian markets also remained weak. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and South Korea’s KOSPI declined up to 1 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei traded flat.

Overnight, Wall Street closed lower, with the S&P 500 falling 1.62 per cent and Nasdaq declining nearly 2 per cent.