National Stock Exchange building, Mumbai, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sensex drops 555 points as banking stocks pull markets lower
Sensex declined 555.23 points to close at 75,577.58 and Nifty settled at 23,635.10 on Tuesday, marking a second straight day of losses.
The Sensex dropped 555.23 points to close at 75,577.58 on Tuesday, as banking stocks pulled the market lower for a second consecutive session.
The Nifty50 fell 144.05 points to settle at 23,635.10, with SBI Life Insurance Company, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank among the top losers.
Monday’s session had already seen a 382-point fall in the Sensex, driven by rising crude oil prices and US-Iran tensions that persisted into Tuesday.
Broader markets diverged from the benchmarks, with the Nifty MidCap up 0.21 percent and the Nifty SmallCap up 0.17 percent.
Crude oil price volatility and geopolitical uncertainty remained the key factors cited for the continued decline in large-cap stocks.
The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty are the two primary benchmark indices used to track the overall health of the Indian stock market, comprising the country’s largest listed companies by market capitalisation.
Foreign institutional investor selling has been a recurring theme in recent sessions, adding to the pressure from oil prices and geopolitical uncertainty.
Analysts have flagged continued volatility as long as Gulf tensions and crude oil supply concerns remain unresolved, with markets likely to stay reactive to fresh developments.
Deepa Jewellers was among the new listings debuting on the exchanges around the same period, drawing separate investor attention even as the benchmark indices declined.
Tuesday marked the second straight session of losses for the Sensex, following Monday’s 382-point decline that was also attributed to crude oil prices and Gulf tensions.
SBI Life Insurance Company, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank were among the top losers on the Nifty50 index during Tuesday’s session.
The broader markets showed a different pattern than the benchmark indices, with the Nifty MidCap rising 0.21 percent and the Nifty SmallCap rising 0.17 percent even as the Sensex and Nifty fell.
Rising crude oil prices directly affect India’s economy given the country’s heavy dependence on imported oil, which widens the trade deficit and pressures the rupee when prices climb.
National Stock Exchange building, Mumbai, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0