Indian benchmark indices ended lower on Tuesday as a sharp rise in crude oil prices, amid escalating tensions in West Asia, weighed on investor sentiment, while the weekly expiry of Nifty 50 contracts also added to market volatility.
The BSE Sensex declined 555.23 points, or 0.73 per cent, to settle at 75,577.58, while the Nifty 50 fell 144.05 points, or 0.61 per cent, to close at 23,635.10.
Global markets remained cautious as Brent crude moved closer to the USD 100-a-barrel mark, raising concerns over inflation and its potential impact on corporate earnings. Brent prices gained more than 2 per cent and were trading around USD 99 per barrel.
The surge in crude prices followed reports that several energy facilities and installations in Saudi Arabia’s southern province came under attack on Tuesday morning. The Saudi Energy Ministry said the attacks resulted in injuries.
Among sectoral indices on the NSE, Nifty Media was the biggest gainer, rising 1.39 per cent, followed by Nifty Pharma at 0.74 per cent and FMCG at 0.40 per cent. Nifty Auto edged up 0.10 per cent.
On the losing side, Nifty IT slipped 0.41 per cent, while Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Private Bank declined 0.22 per cent each. Nifty Consumer Durables fell 0.19 per cent, Nifty Oil and Gas dropped 0.77 per cent and Nifty Metal eased 0.01 per cent.
Gold remained firm amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty, with 24-carat gold trading at Rs 1,53,100 per 10 grams and silver at Rs 2,38,981 per kg.
Asian markets also largely ended in the red. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.96 per cent to 65,779, Singapore’s Straits Times declined 0.43 per cent to 5,767, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.54 per cent to 25,276, while South Korea’s KOSPI slipped 0.59 per cent to 6,954.
