Domestic equity benchmarks started lower on Thursday due to weak global cues and escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia. The Sensex opened at 76,515.10, down 239.95 points or 0.31%, while the Nifty began at 23,904.80, slipping 91.45 points or 0.38%. Nifty Oil & Gas showed the most decline among sectors, dropping nearly 1%, followed by Nifty Pharma, Nifty Realty, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty 500 Healthcare, Nifty Cement, and Nifty Private Bank.
Market experts noted that the recent aggressive actions by the Houthis in the Iran-US conflict, targeting Saudi Arabian tankers in the Red Sea, have heightened the crisis in West Asia, leading to a significant rise in Brent crude prices. Brent crude trading above $95 a barrel is expected to impact the Indian market sentiment, raising concerns about India’s vulnerability to high oil prices.
The negative sentiment is anticipated to impact equity markets and keep stock prices subdued in the short term, according to analysts. Despite this, they view the current market correction as an opportunity for long-term investors to accumulate high-quality stocks in growth sectors at attractive valuations. International benchmark Brent crude surged by 2.57% to trade above $96 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose by over 2% to $88.67 per barrel.
In the Asian markets, there was a mixed trend with Japan’s Nikkei trading slightly higher, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and South Korea’s KOSPI surging by nearly 3%, Taiwan’s Weighted Index declining around 1%, and Singapore’s Straits Times slipping 0.8%. Meanwhile, the US markets closed lower, with the S&P 500 down by 0.14% and the Nasdaq falling by 0.57%.
