Share Market Today: The two key Indian equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday plunged sharply in early trade amid escalating geo-political tensions in the Middle East. At 10.20 am, the BSE Sensex slumped 924 poinst to 83,342. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 25,516, down 280 points.
Stock update
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Asian Paints, Tata Motors, L&T, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, Maruti emerged early losers. On the flip side, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, UltraCemco, SBI, and Sun Pharma are among the gainers.
In the broader markets, the BSE Smallcap dropped 1.09 per cent, while the BSE Midcap sank 1.14 per cent.
Sectoral update
All sectoral indices, except for Metal, were trading in negative territory. Auto was the biggest laggard, down 1.55 per cent, followed by Realty, which dropped 1.48 per cent, and FMCG, down 1.07 per cent. Major indices like Nifty Bank, Financial Services, IT, Consumer Durables, and Oil & Gas also saw declines of around 1 per cent each.
The volatility index, India VIX, surged over 8 per cent, reaching 13.
Markets were closed on Wednesday, October 2, on account of celebrations of Gandhi Jayanti. In the previous session on Tuesday, the BSE Sensex ended 33 points at 84,266, while the NSE Nifty50 closed at 25,796, down 14 points.
"In Tuesday's trade, FIIs were net sellers of Rs 5,579 crore, while crude oil prices surged above $70 per barrel amid escalating tensions in the Middle East," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.
Global update
In Asian markets, Hong Kong traded lower while Tokyo quoted in the positive territory. Markets in mainland China will be closed for the rest of the week due to holiday. The US markets ended marginally higher on Wednesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,579.35 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.15 per cent to $74.75 a barrel.
Rupee falls 11 paise
Rupee depreciated 11 paise to 83.93 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday due to rising crude oil prices and negative sentiment in the domestic equity markets amid concerns over escalating tension in the Middle East.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened at 83.91 and lost further ground to touch 83.93 against the greenback, trading 11 paise lower from its previous session's closing level. On Tuesday, the rupee settled 3 paise lower at 83.82 against the American currency. The forex markets were closed on Wednesday on account of Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti.