BT Closing Bell | Sensex plunges 1,609 pts in 2 days, Nifty below 24,200; key factors why market down today

Domestic equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty declined for the second straight session on Thursday, dragged by selling pressure in auto, bank, and consumer discretionary stocks amid rising crude oil prices and US-Iran ceasefire uncertainty.

At close, the Sensex slipped 852.49 points, or 1.09 per cent, to close at 77,664, taking its two-day fall to 1,609 points, while the Nifty declined 205.05 points, or 0.84 per cent, to settle at 24,173.05.

Top gainers & losers

Among Sensex constituents, Trent emerged as the top loser, slipping 4.21% to Rs 4248.80. Bajaj Finserv followed with a 2.93% drop, while Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Infosys, and HDFC Bank fell 2.90%, 2.79%, 2.04% and 1.93%, respectively.   

While Adani Ports, Larsen & Tuobro (L&T) and Sun Pharma were among the gainers on the 30-pack index, which gained up to 0.97%. 

Five stocks, namely HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Infosys and M&M, contributed largely to the Sensex’s decline.  

Among sectoral indices, the BSE Auto index slumped 2.27% to settle at 57,125.80, while the BSE PSU Bank index declined 2.36% to close at 4,954.88.

Key factors behind the market fall

Rising Crude Oil Prices: Brent crude prices surged 1.99% to $103.94 per barrel amid reports of disruption in Strait of Hormuz amid the US-Iran ceasefire.

“Domestic equities witnessed a broad-based decline, as elevated crude prices above $100 per barrel, amid the impasse in US-Iran negotiations, continued to weigh on sentiment,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd.

Weakening rupee & FPI outflows: The rupee against the dollar dropped to 94.11, tracking uncertainty in West Asia.

“The risk-off mood was further intensified by weak global cues, persistent FII outflows, and a depreciating INR alongside higher US Treasury yields,” Nair added.

Auto, PSU bank stocks: Due to heavy selling pressure in auto and PSU bank stocks, the overall indices were dragged down.

“Markets crumbled sharply as weak global cues pushed local investors to cut their exposure in banking, IT, auto and realty stocks,” said Ankur Punj, MD & Business head at Equirus Wealth

US-Iran conflict: “There is no clarity on peace talks between US & Iran, which has led to renewed uptick in global crude prices. With rupee on the boil breaching the 94 per dollar mark and the continuing FII fund outflows from the domestic equities, there will be a lot of pessimism in the near term,” Punj added.