Mumbai, March 23: The Indian stock market opened lower on Monday due to escalating tensions in the Middle East. At 9:28 AM, the Sensex fell by 1,309 points, or 1.78%, settling at 73,223, while the Nifty dropped 408 points, or 1.77%, to 22,705.
The initial trading session witnessed a broad decline across the stock market. Key sectors such as metals, PSU banks, and consumer durables were among the biggest losers. Other indices, including real estate, defense, IT, healthcare, energy, infrastructure, media, services, and PSU, also showed negative trends.
Both mid-cap and small-cap stocks experienced declines alongside large-cap shares. The Nifty Midcap 100 index fell by 1,248 points, or 2.28%, to 53,607, while the Nifty Smallcap index decreased by 387 points, or 2.48%, to 15,331.
Within the Sensex pack, major losers included Tata Steel, SBI, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, Titan, Indigo, BEL, UltraTech Cement, M&M, Trent, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Bajaj Finserv. Only HCL Tech managed to remain in the green.
Analysts suggest that the market has entered a risk-averse phase due to increasing geopolitical uncertainties and high oil prices. They noted, “Global signals remain extremely weak, and the ongoing selling by foreign institutional investors is negatively impacting market sentiment.”
Emerging markets, including India, remain sensitive to external shocks.
Significant sell-offs were also observed in Asian markets, with Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Seoul all in the red. The U.S. markets closed lower on Friday as well.
Foreign investors have been persistently selling in Indian markets. On Friday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) withdrew ₹5,518.39 crore from equities, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) invested ₹5,706.23 crore.
–
My name is Ganpat Singh Choughan. I am an experienced content writer with 7 years of expertise in the field. Currently, I contribute to Daily Kiran, creating engaging and informative content across a variety of categories including technology, health, travel, education, and automobiles. My goal is to deliver accurate, insightful, and captivating information through my words to help readers stay informed and empowered.
Leave a Comment