Sensex, Nifty open lower amid global weakness; volatility persists on geopolitical concerns

Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty opened lower on Thursday due to weak global trends and escalating tensions in the Middle East. After early losses, both indices turned flat amid volatility. Crude prices, Fed signals, and FII flows influenced investor mood.

Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Thursday in-line with weak trends from global markets as the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict continue to weigh on investors’ sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 253.62 points to 81,191.04 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 73.95 points to 24,738.10.

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However, later both the benchmark indices faced heavy volatility and were trading flat. The BSE benchmark traded 39.09 points higher at 81,483.75, and the Nifty quoted 22.70 points up at 24,835.70.

From the 30-Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, HCL Tech, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Steel and Power Grid were among the major laggards.

Titan, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Motors, Axis Bank and Larsen & Toubro were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were quoting in the negative territory.

US markets ended on a mixed note on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.27 per cent to USD 76.49 a barrel.

“The 24,500-25,000 range for the Nifty is likely to hold till news from the Israel-Iran conflict change for the better or for the worse. If news of deescalation of tensions break, Nifty will break out of the upper band of the range. If the news is about escalation of tensions, particularly relating to troubles in the strait of Hormuz resulting in sharp spike in crude, it would be difficult for Nifty to hold on to the 24,500 support level,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

The Fed decision and commentary have come on expected lines, he added.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 890.93 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also bought equities worth Rs 1,091.34 crore.

“Domestic equities could see a subdued to weak opening as the conflict between Israel-Iran continues to stay grim with both sides refusing to budge. The biggest worry for India would be crude oil prices, which has been rising since the outbreak of the war and if the war prolongs it would have greater impact in terms of an uptick in import bill. Nervousness is likely to continue as the US Fed has held rates steady, but sees two rate cuts by the year end which should give some breathing space to investors worldwide,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said in his pre-opening market comment.

On Wednesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 138.64 points or 0.17 per cent to settle at 81,444.66. The Nifty edged lower by 41.35 points or 0.17 per cent to settle at 24,812.05.