- Escalating Middle East tensions triggered a broad selloff in Indian market on Monday
- Nifty 50 dropped over 500 points at open, falling to an intraday low near 23,698
- Sensex declined nearly 2,000 points while Nifty Bank index lost over 1,900 points
Escalating tensions in the Middle East appear to have hit Indian markets as well, with equities tumbling sharply in early trade on Monday, as a result of a broad-based selloff across sectors on Dalal Street.
The benchmark Nifty 50 index fell more than 500 points at the opening bell, sliding to an intraday low of 23,697.80, after briefly touching a high of 23,959.70 earlier in the session. By early trade, the benchmark was hovering near 23,778.75, down 2.75%, leading to a market capitalisation loss of Rs 13.31 lakh crore.
The decline also pushed the Nifty about 10% below its record high of 26,340, as global uncertainty continued to weigh on Indian risk assets.
The broader market weakness was mirrored in other benchmarks. The Sensex plunged nearly 2,000 points at the open, while the Nifty Bank index dropped more than 1,900 points, led by heavy selling in frontline lenders.
Banking stocks were among the biggest drags on the benchmark. HDFC Bank alone shaved more than 100 points off the Nifty, while ICICI Bank and State Bank of India together dragged the index by over 120 points. In total, major banking stocks pulled the benchmark down by more than 250 points.
From a sectoral perspective, all indices traded in the red, each declining at least 1%. The Nifty PSU Bank index emerged as the worst performer, falling over 4%.
Among individual stocks, InterGlobe Aviation was the biggest loser, tumbling 7.54%, followed by State Bank of India (-5.53%), Tata Motors (-5.40%), Shriram Finance (-5.12%), and Larsen & Toubro (-4.90%). Other notable laggards included Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel, Jio Financial Services, Asian Paints, and Axis Bank, each declining more than 4%.
Defensive pockets of the market showed relative resilience. Pharma and healthcare stocks were the least impacted, while a few heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, Coal India, Wipro, and ONGC recorded comparatively mild declines or marginal gains.
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