Indian Stock Market Closes Lower Amid Surge in Crude Oil Prices

Mumbai, August 11: The Indian stock market closed in the red on Tuesday. By the end of the trading session, the Sensex fell by 388.19 points, or 0.49 percent, settling at 78,154.25. The Nifty dropped 112.10 points, or 0.46 percent, to close at 24,471.70.

Selling pressure was most pronounced in the FMCG and real estate sectors. The Nifty FMCG index was down by 1.17 percent, while the Nifty Realty index fell by 0.99 percent, making them the top losers. Other sectors also faced declines, with Nifty Metal down 0.95 percent, Nifty Infra down 0.86 percent, Nifty Commodities down 0.84 percent, Nifty Consumption down 0.63 percent, Nifty Private Bank down 0.56 percent, Nifty Auto down 0.55 percent, and Nifty India Defense down 0.44 percent.

Conversely, the Nifty Pharma index gained 1.02 percent, Nifty IT rose by 0.61 percent, Nifty Healthcare increased by 0.32 percent, and Nifty Oil and Gas edged up by 0.08 percent.

Midcap and small-cap stocks exhibited mixed performance compared to large caps. The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed down by 11.85 points, or 0.02 percent, at 63,843.85, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index rose by 43.20 points, or 0.22 percent, to finish at 19,857.15.

In the Sensex pack, stocks like Eternal, Infosys, Titan, HCL Tech, and TCS were among the gainers. On the losing side were Ultratech Cement, Axis Bank, Indigo, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, ITC, M&M, Tata Steel, HUL, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, L&T, Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki, SBI, Trent, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and BEL.

Experts suggest that the recent spike in crude oil prices has drawn attention back to inflation risks, dampening investor enthusiasm despite positive earnings reports. Concerns over disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and U.S.-Iran negotiations have kept market sentiment cautious, especially ahead of crucial inflation data from both India and the U.S. Consequently, sectors most affected by rising energy costs faced pressure, while shares of pharma and some IT companies saw gains. Nevertheless, strong foreign investment inflows and robust corporate earnings have limited the risk of further declines.

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