Investors in the stock market faced an unsuccessful start to the first trading session of the week. At the opening, markets began trading in the red zone, showing declining indices.
On the Bombay Stock Exchange, the BSE Sensex index fell by more than 400 points, while the National Stock Exchange's NSE Nifty slipped by more than 150 points. Among the 30 stocks in the BSE large-cap category, 28 were trading in negative territory.
At the Monday opening, the BSE Sensex dropped from the previous close of 77,264.51 to 77,130, and then continued to fall, reaching the level of 76,842. The NSE Nifty followed suit; after opening with a slight decrease compared to the previous close of 24,175, it began to fall faster. By the time of writing, it was at the level of 24,013, showing a drop of more than 150 points.
The main reason for such a significant decline in the stock market is its direct link to the situation between the US and Iran. Tensions in the Middle East have intensified again due to the conflict between the US and Iran. Recent attacks in the Strait of Hormuz area have raised fears of a global war.
This had a direct impact on the international crude oil market: the price of Brent Crude suddenly exceeded the $90 per barrel mark, which heightened concerns about rising inflation in all countries worldwide. Furthermore, sentiment in the Indian market worsened due to declines in Asian stock exchanges. The Gift Nifty indicator, considered a key indicator for Sensex-Nifty, also showed negative signals, trading in the red zone from the beginning and falling by more than 140 points by the time of publication.
Other Asian markets also showed a decline: Japan's Nikkei fell by more than 700 points, Hong Kong's HangSeng decreased by 190 points, and South Korea's KOSPI showed a drop of about 1.50%.
Amid the overall stock market downturn on the first working day of the week, the most affected stocks were Infosys, Tata Steel, and IndiGo, whose quotes in the BSE large-cap category fell by approximately 2%. Shares of Bajaj Finance, Adani Ports, and NTPC fell by approximately 1.5%. In the mid-cap segment, Persistent Share (3.54%), Muthoot Finance Share (3.50%), Fortis Share (2.60%), and Godrej Properties Share (2.45%) experienced declines.