Indian stock markets started the day on a downward trend due to increasing crude oil costs and escalating tensions between the United States and Iran. The Sensex fell by 972.99 points to 75,890.72, and the Nifty dropped by 299.45 points to 23,567.15 in early trading. Analysts suggest that the market faces resistance around 24,000–24,050 levels and crucial support at 23,600–23,500.
Market volatility surged with the India VIX rising by 6.08% to 22.34, indicating heightened uncertainty amidst geopolitical conflicts and soaring energy prices. Heavyweight stocks like InterGlobe Aviation, Tata Motors, and Larsen & Toubro led the market decline during early trade. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices performed even worse than the main benchmarks.
Sector-wise, the Nifty Auto sector witnessed the most significant decline, followed by Nifty Consumer Durables and Nifty Realty. In contrast, the Nifty IT index showed resilience as the best-performing sector of the day, despite trading slightly in the negative territory. Global crude oil prices spiked, with Brent crude surging by nearly 9.16% to $101.53 per barrel, raising concerns about supply disruptions and potential inflation pressure for oil-importing nations like India.
