Equity markets came under heavy selling pressure in early trade on Wednesday as renewed tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher and raised concerns about inflation and interest rates. The escalation came after the US and Iran exchanged strikes overnight, adding to worries over the impact of higher oil prices on global inflation.
At 9:33 am, the BSE Sensex was down 612.09 points, or 0.80%, at 76,332.19. The index opened at 76,471.32 against Tuesday’s close of 76,944.28 and moved between an early high of 76,521.67 and a low of 76,135.72.
The Nifty 50 was down 228.45 points, or 0.95%, at 23,827.35. It opened at 23,858, touched an early high of 23,882.95 and a low of 23,786.80.
The sell-off was broad-based, with all major sectoral indices in the red. Nifty Auto was the worst-performing sectoral index, falling 2.03%, followed by Nifty Realty, which declined 1.88%. Nifty IT fell 1.62%, while Nifty Media lost 1.44%. Nifty Financial Services declined 1.03%, Nifty FMCG fell 0.92%, Nifty Metal declined 0.95% and Nifty Oil & Gas was down 0.67%.
Nifty Pharma was relatively resilient, falling 0.28%, while Nifty Healthcare declined 0.31%. Nifty Private Bank fell 0.64% and Nifty PSU Bank declined 0.51%.
The broader market was also under pressure. Nifty 100 fell 1%, Nifty 200 declined 1.04% and Nifty 500 dropped 1.02%. Nifty Midcap 50 fell 1.23%, while Nifty Midcap 100 declined 1.20%. Nifty Smallcap 100 was down 0.85%. India VIX, the market’s fear gauge, rose 4% to 11.95, pointing to increased volatility.
Among Sensex stocks, Sun Pharma was the top gainer, rising 0.49%, while Adani Ports gained 0.09%. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Power Grid, ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro were among the stocks trading lower.
IndiGo was the biggest loser in the broader list shown, falling 2.50%. Eternal declined 1.78%, Infosys fell 1.57%, HCL Technologies dropped 1.55%, UltraTech Cement declined 1.53% and M&M fell 1.50%. Asian Paints, BEL, TCS, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance and Maruti were also among the major laggards.
The pressure on Indian equities followed a rise in crude oil prices after the latest US-Iran strikes. Brent crude rose around 1% to $95.4 a barrel after touching a near-six-week high earlier in the session. The rise in oil prices has renewed concerns about inflation and the possibility of interest rates remaining higher for longer.
Higher crude prices are particularly important for India because the country imports a large share of its crude oil requirements. A sustained rise in oil prices can put pressure on inflation, the rupee and corporate costs, while also affecting the country’s trade balance.
Global markets were also hit by the escalation in the Middle East conflict, with Asian equities coming under pressure and global bond yields rising on expectations that higher oil prices could make the fight against inflation harder and delay or reverse rate cuts.
For Indian investors, the combination of higher crude prices, rising global yields and geopolitical uncertainty is therefore weighing on sentiment at the start of Wednesday’s session.
