Indian benchmark shares fell on Wednesday, after a rebound in the previous session, as the Middle East war kept investors unsure about the impact on inflation and growth, with oil prices also seesawing.
As of noon, the 30-share S&P BSE Sensex had shed 1.33%, or 1,045.15 points, even as the wider NSE Nifty 50 traded up to 1.19% lower, after a near-flat to positive open on Wednesday. Eight out of the 16 major sectors declined, with heavyweights HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank dropping 1.4% each and Reliance Industries losing 0.48%.
The smallcaps rose 0.5% while the midcaps were flat.
“There is still considerable geopolitical uncertainty and that is why markets are basically on edge,” Devarsh Vakil, head of prime research at HDFC Securities, told Reuters.
The United States and Israel launched what some described as the war’s heaviest strikes on Iran, even as US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the conflict could be “over soon”.
Meanwhile, oil prices had a short-lived pullback after the Wall Street Journal reported that the International Energy Agency has proposed a record release of oil reserves to curb crude prices, offering some relief to bruised global stocks. The pullback helped the Sensex and Nifty 50 rebound on Tuesday after logging their biggest decline in a month in Monday’s session and ending near one-year lows.
The benchmarks have lost about 5% each since the start of the Iran war.
“The news that International Energy Agency may release emergency stockpile will keep crude at a lower level and will enthuse market participants,” Vakil said. Brent crude futures swung between gains and losses to trade 1.4% lower at $86.64 per barrel.
Stocks in news today
- IndiGo (Interglobe Aviation Ltd.) gained as much as 3% after its CEO Pieter Elbers resigned.
- Waaree Energies Ltd. climbed up to 2.4% on a deal to acquire shares worth $30 million in United Solar Holdings.
