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Sensex tumbles around 1,000 points as fresh Iran strikes spark war fears
At around 11:15 am on Wednesday, Sensex was trading at around 73,697, down by nearly 1,000 points from the previous close of 74,649.84.
Sensex tanked further by around 1,000 points on Wednesday after opening low in early trade amid uncertainty related to US–Iran negotiations after fresh Iranian strikes, an increase in crude oil prices and persistent foreign fund outflows.
At around 11:15 am on Wednesday, Sensex was trading at 73,697, down by nearly 1,000 points from the previous close of 74,649.84.
The 50-share NSE Nifty also tumbled in early trade on Wednesday, dropping 177.40 points to 23,302.50.
The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 699.74 points to 73,959.48 in early trade. From the 30 Sensex firms, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Tech, ITC and Eternal were among the biggest laggards on opening.
"The mild escalation in the West Asia conflict has again pushed up Brent crude price to close to USD 97 indicating no respite to India from the energy shock," PTI news agency quoted as saying VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.
What's behind stock market slump
The stock market slump comes after Iran fired missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain — sparking fears of resumption of its war with US-Israel that is currently paused under a fragile ceasefire while negotiations to reach a permanent truce deal remain deadlocked. The missiles failed to hit their targets, the US said. The two fired at Kuwait fell apart en route, while US and Bahraini forces intercepted the missiles aimed at Bahrain.
Meanwhile, the US Trade Representative has proposed slapping 12.5 per cent additional duties on 54 countries, including India, for failing to prohibit the import of goods produced with forced labour.
The action follows investigations launched against 60 countries over what the USTR described as their failure to impose and effectively enforce bans on imports made with forced labour.
BSE Sensex on Tuesday snapped the four-day losing streak and rebounded by 382 points following a strong rally in IT shares.
The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 382.50 points, or 0.52 per cent, to settle at 74,649.84 with 20 of its constituents ending higher and 10 with losses. The barometer jumped 1,047.07 points to 74,862.19 from its intra-day low of 73,815.12, according to data mentioned in a PTI report.
The 50-share NSE Nifty rose by 100.95 points, or 0.43 per cent, to end at 23,483.55.
Among 30 Sensex firms, Tata Consultancy Services jumped the most by 6.53 per cent. Infosys climbed 5.66 per cent, HCL Tech by 4.08 per cent and Tech Mahindra by 1.76 per cent. Adani Ports, Titan, Eternal, HDFC Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra were also among the gainers.
