Sensex falls 370 points on geopolitical tensions

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Monday as renewed hostilities between the US 
and Iran and rising oil prices 
unnerved investors.

Profit booking in select counters and selling pressure in IT, auto and oil stocks also dragged the benchmarks lower, traders said.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 372.10 points, or 0.48 per cent, to settle at 76,728.37. During the day, it tanked 478.72 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 76,621.75. A total of 2,629 stocks declined, while 1,712 advanced and 218 remained unchanged on the BSE.

The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 109.75 points, or 0.46 per cent, to end at 23,946.25. “Geopolitical tensions escalated sharply over the weekend as the US and Iran exchanged attacks over the Strait of Hormuz before agreeing to halt hostilities and renew talks, keeping losses in check, but raising serious questions over the deal’s durability and heightening the risk of a breakdown, leaving headline risk and volatility deeply embedded in market reactions,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.  From the Sensex pack, Kotak Mahindra Bank declined 3.24 per cent after the firm said its MD and CEO, Ashok Vaswani, will quit upon completion of his three-year tenure and will not seek re-appointment when his current term ends on December 31, 2026.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti, InterGlobe Aviation, UltraTech Cement and Larsen & Toubro were also among the laggards.
In contrast, Eternal, Trent, Bharat Electronics and NTPC were among the gainers. The BSE SmallCap Select index declined 0.65 per cent, and the MidCap Select index dipped 0.60 per cent.
Sectorally, Auto tumbled 2.11 per cent, Focused IT tanked 1.53 per cent, Oil & Gas (1.40 per cent), Services (1.21 per cent), IT (1.04 per cent) and Consumer Discretionary (0.91 per cent).
Healthcare, Utilities, Capital Goods, MidSmall Private Banks, Quality Tilt and Power were the gainers.