Indian equity markets fell in Tuesday’s session as the Iran-Israel conflict extended for the third day. The markets started the session on a flat note, and later inched down.
The Nifty 50 closed the session 93 points or 0.37% lower at 24,853, the Sensex lost 213 points or 0.26% to end at 81,583.
The banking stocks were in line with the overall bearish market sentiments, the Nifty Bank fell 230 points or 0.41% to end at 55,714.
The BSE Midcap pulled back almost 260 points or 0.56% to 45,846. On the other hand, the BSE Smallcap remained steady, surging 360 points or 0.67% to 53,212.80.
“Technically, a reversal formation on intraday charts and a bearish candle on daily charts indicate temporary weakness. We believe that as long as the market is trading below 24,900, the weak sentiment is likely to continue. On the downside, 24,775 would be the immediate support zones for traders,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities.
“Following the recent rebound, the broader indices also witnessed profit-taking and declined by over half a per cent each. In the absence of any major domestic events, global cues—such as updates on ongoing geopolitical tensions and the outcome of the FOMC meeting—will guide the market trend and are likely to keep volatility elevated,” said Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President of Research at Religare Broking.
“The benchmark equity index experienced moderate losses amid rising risk of an escalation of conflicts in the Middle East ahead of the FOMC meeting. This uncertainty pushed Brent crude prices higher—an unfavourable development for India, given its heavy reliance on oil imports, thereby dampening earnings growth,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments.