Equities slumped sharply on Monday as escalating and triggered a shift toward safe-haven assets, dampening investor sentiment. The sell-off was broad-based, with benchmark indices under heavy pressure and sharp declines across sectors.
At 12.45 pm, the Sensex had dropped 1,625.94 points or 2.00 per cent to 79,661.25, while the Nifty 50 fell 485.95 points or 1.93 per cent to 24,692.70.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Sensex, Nifty slide 2% as oil surge rattles markets.
- Midcaps, smallcaps fall over 2%; all sectors in red.
- L&T, IndiGo, Adani Ports drop up to 7%; BEL, ONGC gain.
- Defence stocks shine.
The weakness extended to the broader market, with both midcap and smallcap indices falling more than 2 per cent. All sectoral indices traded in the red, led by consumer durables and auto stocks, which declined over 3 per cent. Realty, media and oil & gas indices slipped more than 2 per cent.
In contrast, amid the geopolitical tensions, with several counters gaining between 1 and 6 per cent, including Bharat Electronics (BEL) and Paras Defence.
Vinit Bolinjkar, Head of Research, Ventura, said the sharp weekend escalation has injected a significant geopolitical risk premium into Indian equities, with a 10 per cent spike in Brent crude toward $80 per barrel and pressure on the rupee likely to push the Nifty toward the 24,500 support level amid energy-led inflation concerns.
He noted that margin-sensitive sectors such as paints and oil marketing companies could face immediate strain, while upstream energy and defence stocks stand to benefit structurally. IT and pharma may offer near-term safety as the dollar strengthens.
However, he advised investors not to confuse geopolitical shocks with structural breakdowns, suggesting that such corrections often present attractive buying opportunities in quality domestic cyclicals.
Top gainers & losers of Nifty 50
Among the Nifty 50 constituents, Bharat Electronics rose over 1 per cent, while ONGC, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel and Hindalco managed to post modest gains in the afternoon trading session. Shares of L&T, InterGlobe Aviation and Adani Ports dragged 5-7 per cent.
Only 428 stocks advanced on the National Stock Exchange at the time of writing. About 2,689 declined and 75 remained unchanged of all the 3,192 stocks that were traded.
Nearly 33 stocks scaled to a 52-week high, while 593 (including Page Industries, Abbott India, Shree Cements, Naukri and Fino Payments) fell to a 52-week low. In addition, 169 stocks hit the lower circuit compared to 34 stocks hitting the upper circuit.
Midcap & smallcap movers
Under the midcap basket, Muthoot Finance, National Aluminium, Tube Investments and KEI International led the gainers, while Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd, Suzlon, IREDA and IRB fell over 5 per cent.
Tejas Networks rallied 13 per cent under the smallcap segment, Anand Rathi, Neuland Lab, Hindustan Copper and MCX also posted mdoest gains. On the flip side, IFCI, Redington, Aegis Vopak, KPIL and HSCL depreciated 5-6 per cent.