Sensex tanks 555 points
Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Tuesday, extending losses for the second straight day, as rising crude oil prices and the US-Iran hostilities kept risk appetite subdued.
Selling in blue-chip stocks ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries also dragged the markets lower.
The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 555.23 points, or 0.73 per cent, to settle at 75,577.58. During the day, it tanked 579.46 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 75,553.35.
The 50-share NSE Nifty ended 144.05 points, or 0.61 per cent, lower at 23,635.10.
Among the 30 Sensex firms, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank were the major laggards.
Bharat Electronics, Adani Ports, Hindustan Unilever and Inter Globe Aviation were the gainers.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 1.45 per cent to $98.36 per barrel.
“Indian equity markets ended lower on a weak note, extending their slide to a seven-week low and maintaining the prevailing bearish trend as elevated crude oil prices and persistent geopolitical uncertainty continued to weigh on investor sentiment. Selling pressure remained visible through the session,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said. The BSE MidCap Select index climbed 0.79 per cent, while the SmallCap Select index ended flat, down 0.06 per cent.
Among the BSE sectoral indices, Insurance declined 1.05 per cent, Top 10 Banks 0.97 per cent, Private Banks index 0.88 per cent, Financial Services 0.80 per cent, Oil & Gas 0.64 per cent, Bankex 0.63 per cent and Energy 0.48 per cent.
