Sensex, Nifty open lower as U.S.-Iran standoff weighs on sentiment
Market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Friday, 14 Aug as the prolonged U.S.-Iran impasse weighed heavily on investor sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 298.75 points to 77,760.21, while the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 74.20 points to 24,321.90 in early trade.
From the Sensex pack, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, InterGlobe Aviation, Tech Mahindra, Power Grid and ITC were among the major laggards, while Eternal, Titan, Adani Ports and Bajaj Finance were among the winners.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 0.06% higher at USD 87.12 per barrel. "The unresolved U.S.-Iran standoff continues to underpin crude oil prices, leaving oil-importing economies such as India more vulnerable to inflationary pressures and currency volatility," said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth-tech firm.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 traded higher, while Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index quoted lower. U.S. markets ended higher on Thursday.
Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 510.69 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
On Thursday, fag-end buying helped the Sensex end the session in positive territory. The 30-share index settled 113.61 points, or 0.15%, higher at 78,079.96, while the Nifty was marginally down 40.10 points, or 0.16%, to end at 24,395.85, registering its third day of decline.
