Sensex Opening Bell: Market broken due to tension in West Asia; Sensex-Nifty slip, loss of 5.63 lakh crore

New Delhi| The benchmark equity index showed a sharp decline in early trade on Thursday. During this period, Sensex fell by more than 1,250 points and Nifty 50 went below 25,500 points. This decline in the market came due to vigilance on the part of investors after the tension in West Asia. At 9:16 am, the BSE Sensex was seen trading at 83,002, down 1,264 points, or 1.5%. The Nifty 50 fell by 344 points, or 1.33%, to 25,452.

The market capitalization of all companies listed on BSE declined by Rs 5.63 lakh crore to Rs 469.23 lakh crore. The possibility of increasing tension in West Asia has increased after Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel earlier this week. If this conflict intensifies, oil supply from this area may be disrupted. An increase in crude oil prices was seen on Thursday. The increase in oil prices is negative for commodity importing countries like India, as crude oil contributes significantly to the country’s import bill.

Talking about Sensex shares, the shares of Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, M&M, L&T and Bharti Airtel were most responsible for the slipping of the index. At the same time, JSW Steel and Tata Steel were the only stocks which opened with gains. The Nifty Oil & Gas Index fell by more than 1.2% in early trade due to concerns over the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Hindustan Petroleum, IOC and GSPL were the most backward in the index. Meanwhile, the India VIX jumped 8.9% to 13.06.

The rupee also fell amid negative sentiment in domestic stock markets amid concerns over rising crude oil prices and rising tensions in the Middle East. The rupee fell 11 paisa to 83.93 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday (October 3, 2024). According to currency traders, the continuous exit of foreign investment from the capital markets and the strengthening of the American currency put pressure on the Indian currency.