Domestic equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NIFTY 50 snapped their two-day winning streak on Tuesday as investors booked profits amid fresh concerns over geopolitical tensions involving the United States and Iran.
The Sensex dropped 479.26 points, or 0.63 per cent, to close at 76,009.70, while the Nifty declined 118 points, or 0.49 per cent, to settle at 23,913.70.
Market sentiment weakened after reports suggested fresh US military operations in southern Iran despite ongoing diplomatic discussions around a possible peace deal.
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Banking stocks drag indices lower
Heavy selling pressure in banking and financial stocks weighed significantly on the broader market. Among the biggest drags on the Sensex were HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and Axis Bank. The BSE Top 10 Banks index declined 0.61 per cent, while the BSE Bankex fell 0.31 per cent by the end of the session.
Among Sensex stocks, Trent emerged as the top loser, falling 1.42 per cent. Shares of Tata Consultancy Services, Bajaj Finance and Titan Company also ended lower. On the gaining side, Tech Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki and Eternal managed to close in positive territory.
Crude oil concerns weigh on sentiment
As per a Business Today report, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Ltd, said market optimism around a potential US-Iran peace agreement weakened after reports of military activity emerged.
“Near-term optimism about a potential US-Iran peace deal faded sharply after reports of US military operations in southern Iran, causing crude prices to rise and the rupee to reverse its brief appreciation,” Nair said.
He added that monthly futures and options expiry further intensified technical selling pressure in an already cautious market environment. Despite the broader decline, mid-cap stocks showed relative resilience during the session, with the mid-cap index touching an all-time high intraday.
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Key levels for Nifty
Sudeep Shah, Head of Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, said the immediate resistance for the Nifty remained in the 24,050–24,100 zone.
“Any sustainable move above this zone could result in Nifty extending its pullback towards 24,250, followed by 24,400 in the short term,” Shah said as cited by Business Today.
On the downside, he placed immediate support in the 23,800–23,750 range. Market participants are now expected to closely track developments around the US-Iran situation, crude oil prices, rupee movement and monthly expiry-related volatility for further direction.
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