Indian equity benchmarks came under pressure on Wednesday as a sharp rise in crude oil prices and heavy selling in IT stocks weighed on sentiment. The BSE Sensex fell 663 points from its previous close to an intraday low of 74,914.79, while the Nifty 50 dropped more than 168 points to 23,466.65.
Brent crude hits $100 a barrel for the first time since July 24 amid heightened geopolitical tensions in West Asia. The sustained rise in crude prices could intensify inflationary pressures, weigh on the rupee, test corporate margins in the earnings season.
At 12.45 pm, Sensex traded 365.83 points or 0.48 per cent lower at 75,211.75, Nifty 50 shed 74.30 points or 0.31 per cent to 23,560.80.
The broader market also remained weak, with the Nifty midcap 100 and Nifty smallcap 100 down 0.6 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.
Sudeep Shah, Head of Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities said Nifty has crucial support at 23,410-23,430 and resistance at 23,620-23,640. A break below 23,410 could take the index towards 23,280-23,300, while a move above 23,640 could extend the rally towards 23,800.
He added that Nifty Oil & Gas is the best-performing sector, while Nifty IT is the worst-performing sector. On the options front, he highlighted meaningful call writing at 23,600 and 23,700 strikes, while 23,500 has substantial open interest on the put side, followed by 23,400. For the Sensex, Shah pegged support at 74,600 and resistance at 75,500.
IT stocks lead losses
Selling was broad-based, with most sectoral indices trading lower. Metal and oil & gas were the only exceptions, with the metal index rising despite the weak market trend.
, trading 3 per cent lower at the time of writing.
Infosys, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra top Nifty 50 losers
Among Nifty 50 stocks, Adani Enterprises, Max Health, Coal India, Adani Ports, Tata Steel and Hindalco were among the top gainers. HDFC Life, Infosys, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra and Wipro led the declines.
In the midcap segment, Paytm, NALCO, JSW Energy, BHEL and GMR Airports gained 1-4 per cent. Coforge, BSE, MphasiS, Tata Elxsi and Glenmark were among the biggest losers.
Smallcap stocks MRPL, Aegis Logistics, CESC, HBL Engineering and RPower gained 2-6 per cent, while Netweb Tech, IFCI, PPL Pharma and Urban Company fell 3 per cent.
On the NSE, 3,507 stocks were traded at the time of writing. Of these, 1,304 advanced, 2,107 declined and 96 remained unchanged. As many as 115 stocks touched their 52-week highs, while 98 hit 52-week lows, including HDFC Bank. A total of 94 stocks hit the upper circuit and 90 touched the lower circuit.
On the BSE, Graphite India, Chennai Petroleum, MRPL, Va Tech and Aegis Logistics zoomed 5-17 per cent, while Raymond, Coforge, Aarti Pharma, HDFC Life and Infosys shed 4-6 per cent.
Crude hits seven-week high
Brent crude crossed the $100 mark and hitting seven-week highs amid heightened tensions in West Asia. The rise followed strikes by US forces on five Iranian oil tankers near Kharg Island, raising concerns over potential disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Asian shares were mixed in cautious trading as investors assessed the outlook for interest rates and developments in the Iran conflict.
US equities also ended lower on Tuesday after markets reopened following a three-day weekend. The S&P 500 fell 0.6 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.2 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.3 per cent.