Stock benchmarks Sensex and Nifty fell for a fifth straight session on Tuesday amid weak global trends as simmering tensions between Russia and Ukraine kept investors on the sidelines.
The 30-leg BSE Sensex opened weak and fell further 432.36 points or 0.81% to 52,410.39 amid firming oil prices and unrelenting selling by foreign institutional investors.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty fell 115.75 points, or 0.72%, to 15,747.40 in opening trade.
On Monday, the Sensex closed at 52,842.75, down 1,491.06 points, or 2.74%, while the Nifty lost 382.20 points, or 2.35%, to end at 15,863.15.
Out of the 30 stock pack, Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Asian Paints were the biggest laggards, falling to 2.13%.
In contrast, Power Grid Corporation of India, NTPC, TCS and Tech Mahindra were among the winners.
“The entire global market closed in the red on Monday, including the Indian market, which fell dramatically, down about 2 percent after sustained oil price gains and weak global signals. Markets have been rocked by a sharp rise in crude oil prices as investors fear further penalties against Russia,” said Mohit Nigam, Head – PMS, Hem Securities.
Stock exchanges in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo traded lower during the session.
Stock exchanges in the US closed in negative territory and fell sharply on Monday.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent rose 2.50% to $126.1 a barrel.
“US stocks tumbled as investors continued to sell stocks and hoard safe haven assets as concerns mounted over the economic fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Dow Jones fell 2.4 percent while the S&P 500 lost 2.95 percent. heavy Nasdaq fell 3.6 percent,” said Mitul Shah, head of research at Reliance Securities.
Overseas institutional investors continued their selling spree in Indian markets as they sold ₹7,482.08 crore of shares on a net basis, according to stock market data on Monday.
