Indian Equity Benchmarks End Lower Amid Global Cues and Geopolitical Tensions

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Equity benchmarks ended lower on Thursday as weak global cues, rising crude oil prices, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and sustained selling in IT stocks weighed on investor sentiment. The session saw heightened volatility, with both indices swinging between losses and recovery before closing in negative territory. The BSE Sensex ended 150.63 points, or 0.20%, lower at 73,832.55, while the NSE Nifty declined 53.35 points, or 0.23%, to close at 23,161.60.

Top gainers and losers

Among Sensex and Nifty constituents, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, JSW Steel and Bharti Airtel were among the top gainers.

Nifty50 top gainers

Company NameCurrent Price (Rs)Price Change% ChangeKwality Wall's34.861.86 ↑5.61% ↑ICICI Bank1,31723.70 ↑1.84% ↑M&M3,00148.40 ↑1.64% ↑Kotak Bank393.355.25 ↑1.36% ↑JSW Steel1,28212.50 ↑0.99% ↑Grasim Inds.3,09018.30 ↑0.60% ↑Cipla1,3836.30 ↑0.46% ↑Sun Pharma1,7947.80 ↑0.44% ↑Bharti Airtel1,7837.40 ↑0.42% ↑RIL1,2634.21 ↑0.34% ↑

Sensex top gainers

Company NameCurrent Price (Rs)Price Change% ChangeKwality Wall's34.861.86 ↑5.61% ↑ICICI Bank1,31723.70 ↑1.84% ↑M&M3,00148.40 ↑1.64% ↑Kotak Bank393.355.25 ↑1.36% ↑Sun Pharma1,7947.80 ↑0.44% ↑Bharti Airtel1,7837.40 ↑0.42% ↑RIL1,2634.21 ↑0.34% ↑Axis Bank1,3172.80 ↑0.22% ↑Maruti Suzuki13,09825.00 ↑0.20% ↑NTPC351.850.21 ↑0.06% ↑

Infosys, Adani Ports, HCL Technologies, Eternal and Bharat Electronics were among the major losers.

Nifty50 top losers

Company NameCurrent Price (Rs)Price Change% ChangeInfosys1,115-30.71 ↓-2.69% ↓HCL Tech1,110-21.90 ↓-1.94% ↓Eternal235.20-4.61 ↓-1.92% ↓Adani Ports SEZ1,787-34.11 ↓-1.88% ↓Trent2,711-43.80 ↓-1.60% ↓Bajaj Finance870.55-13.56 ↓-1.54% ↓BEL402.30-6.06 ↓-1.49% ↓Hindalco1,024-15.00 ↓-1.45% ↓L&T3,862-55.50 ↓-1.42% ↓HUL2,140-29.70 ↓-1.37% ↓

Sensex top losers

Company NameCurrent Price (Rs)Price Change% ChangeInfosys1,115-30.71 ↓-2.69% ↓HCL Tech1,110-21.90 ↓-1.94% ↓Eternal235.20-4.61 ↓-1.92% ↓Adani Ports SEZ1,787-34.11 ↓-1.88% ↓Trent2,711-43.80 ↓-1.60% ↓Bajaj Finance870.55-13.56 ↓-1.54% ↓BEL402.30-6.06 ↓-1.49% ↓L&T3,862-55.50 ↓-1.42% ↓HUL2,140-29.70 ↓-1.37% ↓Bajaj Finserv1,645-19.11 ↓-1.15% ↓

Volatile intraday trade

Markets opened sharply lower, tracking weakness in global equities after renewed concerns over the US-Iran conflict pushed crude oil prices higher. In early trade, the Sensex fell 464.43 points to 73,518.75, while the Nifty dropped 142.9 points to 23,072.05. However, indices recovered in the first half of the session and briefly turned positive. Around 1:50 pm, the Sensex was up 75.95 points at 74,059.13, while the Nifty hovered near flat at 23,217.90. The recovery faded later in the day as selling resumed.

Global and domestic pressure points

Market sentiment remained under pressure from elevated crude oil prices and renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Persistent foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows and a weaker rupee also added to caution. Ajit Mishra, SVP-research at Religare Broking Limited, was quoted by news agency ANI as saying that markets remained volatile on the weekly expiry day and ended lower amid weak global cues. He added that sentiment was fragile due to geopolitical escalation and concerns over elevated global interest rates after stronger US inflation data.

Sectoral trends

IT stocks were the worst hit, with the Nifty IT index falling over 1%, followed by declines in FMCG, energy, realty, PSU banks, consumer durables and chemicals. Banking and pharmaceutical stocks showed resilience and helped limit broader losses, while Nifty Media bucked the trend, ending 1.78% higher at 1,465.50. Analysts noted that the market continues to see selling on rallies, though selective buying in heavyweight stocks is providing support. Mishra cautioned that a decisive fall below the 23,000 level on the Nifty could trigger further correction, while upside momentum may remain capped near 23,500.

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