Equity benchmarks opened sharply lower on Thursday as surging crude oil prices and fresh geopolitical flashpoints in the West Asia weighed on sentiment.
Equity benchmarks opened sharply lower on Thursday as surging crude oil prices and fresh geopolitical flashpoints in the West Asia weighed on sentiment.
The BSE Sensex, which closed at 73,709.69 on Wednesday, opened at 73,343.33 and was trading at 73,018.66, down 691.03 points or 0.94 per cent, at 9.35 am. The NSE Nifty 50, which closed at 22,811.35, opened at 22,687.75 and was last seen at 22,580.45, down 230.90 points or 1.01 per cent.
Top gainers and top losers at market open
Only two stocks on the Nifty 50 were in positive territory. Eternal was the top gainer, rising 1.90 per cent to ₹318.30 from a previous close of ₹312.35, while Infosys edged up 0.09 per cent to ₹1,169.05 from ₹1,168.00.
On the losing side, Coal India was the worst performer, down 2.82 per cent to ₹396.00 from ₹407.50, followed by Power Grid Corporation, which fell 2.58 per cent to ₹245.65 from ₹252.15, Nestle India, down 2.55 per cent to ₹1,192.70 from ₹1,223.90, BEL, off 2.40 per cent to ₹362.30 from ₹371.20, and Hindalco Industries, declining 2.37 per cent to ₹871.65 from ₹892.85.
The IT sector gained 2.88 per cent in the previous session, with Infosys and TCS among the leaders, and retains a positive bias from Wall Street’s tech-driven gains.
Chemical, Metal, Auto, Realty and Defense stocks remained under pressure. Broader markets continued to suffer: the Nifty Midcap 100 fell 1.60 per cent to a six-month low and the Nifty Smallcap 100 plunged 2.40 per cent to a four-month low on Wednesday.
Brent crude was trading at $110.69 a barrel, up 1.72 per cent, while WTI crude stood at $98.52, up 1.41 per cent.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange, November crude oil futures rose 1.47 per cent to ₹9,343 and December futures climbed 1.41 per cent to ₹9,195.
Houthi rebels attacked a Saudi Aramco oilfield overnight, and the United States ordered its diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia, intensifying supply-disruption fears.
Averytin News Financial update.