Mumbai, June 8. Trading started with a sharp decline in the Indian stock market on Monday amid rising tensions in West Asia, rising crude oil prices and weak signals from global markets. Key benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty both opened down around 1 per cent. Sensex opened over 800 points or 1.11 per cent lower at 73,421.61, while Nifty fell 286 points or 1.22 per cent to 23,080.70.
At the sectoral level, selling pressure was seen in realty, metal, auto and information technology (IT) stocks. The maximum decline was recorded among these. Realty shares fell nearly 2 per cent while metal, auto and IT indices slipped more than 1 per cent. Major weak stocks of Nifty included Wipro, TCS, Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Bajaj Finance and Shriram Finance. The weakness was not limited to the major indices only.
The broader market was also under pressure with Nifty Midcap 100, Midcap 150 and Smallcap indices falling by around 1 per cent each. However, market volatility increased rapidly. India VIX jumped nearly 15 percent to around 18. According to analysts, the broader technical structure of the market still remains weak. Nifty is trading below important moving averages and maintaining a ‘Lower High-Lower Low’ pattern, indicating persistent selling pressure.
He says that immediate support for Nifty is visible in the range of 23,100-23,000, while strong resistance exists between 23,500-23,700. Investor sentiment remained weak due to rising geopolitical tensions in West Asia. New Israeli attacks on Lebanon and reports of explosions in several Iranian cities have raised fears that the conflict could widen and crude oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz could be affected.
However, earlier US President Donald Trump had said that an agreement to end the conflict was still possible and had reportedly urged the Israeli leadership not to escalate tensions further. Meanwhile, crude oil prices continued to rise. International benchmark Brent crude rose 4 percent to $96.90 a barrel, while US WTI was trading 4.64 percent higher at $94.75 a barrel. Asian markets also witnessed widespread weakness. The Nikkei 225 fell nearly 4 percent, the Kospi lost a massive 5 percent, while the Hang Seng index traded down nearly 1 percent.
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