Stock market fall: Sensex 344 points and Nifty below 24,100, investors worried due to Middle East tension

Mumbai, 14 July. The effect of increasing geopolitical tension in the Middle East was also seen on the Indian stock market on Tuesday. The market started with a decline on the second trading day of the week. In early trade, BSE Sensex fell 344 points (0.44%) to 77,272, while NSE Nifty slipped 143 points (0.59%) to trade at 24,068. There was selling pressure in the market not only in largecap but also in midcap and smallcap stocks. Nifty Midcap 100 was trading 137 points (0.23%) lower at 62,906 and Nifty Smallcap 100 was trading 68 points (0.35%) lower at 19,355.

Pressure in auto and financial stocks

Most pressure was seen on shares of auto and financial sectors in early trading. Nifty India Defence, Realty, Private Bank, Media, Services, Manufacturing, Infra, Consumption, Oil & Gas and PSE indices were trading in the red. At the same time, buying was seen in Nifty Metal, Healthcare and Pharma indices and they remained in the green.

There was rise and fall in these shares

Major Sensex gainers included TCS, Adani Ports, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Bharti Airtel, NTPC and ITC. On the other hand, shares of Indigo, Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), HCL Tech, L&T, Kotak Mahindra Bank, SBI, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Asian Paints, Titan, Power Grid and Eternal declined.

Weakness in Asian markets too

The trend of global markets also remained weak. Major stock markets of Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Seoul were trading in the red, while the Jakarta market was seen trading with gains. American markets also closed under pressure on Monday. Dow Jones fell 0.26 percent and Nasdaq fell 1.55 percent.

Market worries increased due to Middle East tension

According to analysts, the main reason for pressure on global stock markets including India is the increasing military tension between America and Iran. Due to increasing uncertainty in the sector, investors’ inclination towards risky investments has decreased. Amidst the tension, crude oil prices have also increased in the international market. Brent crude has reached around $85 per barrel and WTI crude has reached around $80 per barrel. Rising crude oil prices may put pressure on both inflation and markets for importing countries like India.