Extending their losses for the fourth consecutive session, benchmark equity indices slumped nearly 2% on Tuesday as the lack of progress in US-Iran negotiations continued to keep global markets on edge. Rising Brent crude oil prices, which surged to hit $107.6 per barrel amid uncertainty surrounding the West Asia conflict, remained a key concern.

The rupee also weakened to a fresh record low of 95.63 against the dollar amid fears of a widening import bill and rising inflationary pressures. The Sensex plunged 1,456.04 points, or 1.92%, to close at 74,559.24, while the Nifty tanked 436.30 points, or 1.83%, to end the session at 23,379.55.

Broader indices witnessed sharper declines, with the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap slumping 2.60% and 3.04%, respectively. Over the past four sessions, the Sensex and Nifty have declined 4.36% and 3.91%, respectively.

Investors lose 11.3 lakh crore on Tuesday

Investors lost 11.3 lakh crore on Tuesday, while cumulative losses over the past three sessions stood at nearly 19 lakh crore. “Domestic equities remained under pressure, with the rupee weakening to record lows amid rising crude oil prices linked to escalating tensions in West Asia, along with persistent FII outflows,” said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Investments.

Near-term market sentiment is likely to remain volatile due to concerns over crude oil prices and currency weakness, though any signs of geopolitical easing could trigger relief rallies, supported by resilient domestic fundamentals and stable institutional flows, Nair added.

“Overall sentiment appears extremely bearish, with the potential to drag the Nifty index towards the 23,200–23,150 zone in the near term, from where a meaningful recovery may emerge. On the higher side, resistance is placed at 23,600, above which sentiment could improve,” said Rupak De, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities.

Gold jewellery, airline and tourism-related stocks, which had slumped on Monday following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on austerity measures to conserve foreign exchange, continued to remain under pressure for the second consecutive session.

IT stocks came under heavy selling pressure after OpenAI launched a $4-billion enterprise AI deployment initiative and acquired consulting and engineering firm Tomoro to accelerate adoption of its AI software. The Nifty IT Index declined 3.73% to a three-year low of 28,234.90.

Market breadth remained strongly negative, with 3,412 losers against 869 gainers on the BSE. Realty, IT, consumer durables, auto and financials emerged as the top sectoral laggards.

Barring SBI, all other Sensex constituents ended in the red, while 46 of the 50 Nifty companies closed lower. Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, HCLTech, TCS and Titan Company were the top Sensex losers.

HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Infosys, and L&T together contributed 632 points, or 43%, to the Sensex’s 1,456-point fall.

Foreign portfolio investors offloaded Indian equities worth 1,959.39 crore ($204.89 million), while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth7,990.32 crore, according to provisional BSE data.

So far in calendar year 2026, FPIs have sold shares worth 2.13 lakh crore ($22.8 billion), while DIIs have bought shares worth3.37 lakh crore.