Stock markets decline amid surging oil prices, foreign fund outflows

MUMBAI: Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty buckled under selling pressure on Tuesday as a sharp rally in oil prices and foreign fund outflows amid persistent geopolitical uncertainties dented investors' sentiment.

Deep losses in banking, financial and auto stocks also dragged the equity benchmarks lower, traders said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 416.72 points, or 0.54 per cent, to settle at 76,886.91. During the day, it lost 562.57 points, or 0.72 per cent, to 76,741.06.

A total of 2,257 stocks declined, while 1,998 advanced and 172 remained unchanged on the BSE.

The 50-share gauge NSE Nifty dropped 97 points, or 0.40 per cent, to end at 23,995.70.

"The session was largely influenced by persistent geopolitical uncertainty, particularly around US–Iran negotiations, which kept crude oil prices elevated and weighed on sentiment.

"Additionally, pressure in banking stocks following regulatory developments related to provisioning norms further capped the upside. Despite these headwinds, buying in select index heavyweights and commodity-linked stocks, along with stock-specific earnings triggers, helped cushion the downside," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

From the 30-Sensex firms, Axis Bank, HCL Tech, InterGlobe Aviation, Maruti, State Bank of India and ICICI Bank were among the biggest laggards.

In contrast, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra and Sun Pharma were among the gainers.

The BSE SmallCap Select index climbed 0.42 per cent, while the BSE MidCap Select index dipped 0.27 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, PSU bank dropped (2.20 per cent), bankex declined 1.61 per cent, top 10 banks (1.44 per cent), private banks (1.23 per cent), auto (0.98 per cent) and hospitals (0.95 per cent).

"The Reserve Bank of India has finalised the implementation of the Expected Credit Loss (ECL) framework from April 2027, replacing the incurred loss model with a forward-looking system that enables earlier recognition of credit risks and continuous monitoring.

"In the near term, this transition is likely to increase provisioning requirements and weigh on margins, particularly for PSU banks and lenders with higher exposure to unsecured and MSME segments," Siddhartha Khemka - Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.

However, energy, commodities, industrials, telecommunication, utilities, metal and oil & gas were the gainers.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 2.97 per cent to USD 111.4 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,151.48 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

"Indian equity markets traded under pressure, ending in the red as unresolved tensions in the Middle East and persistent disruptions to energy supply, particularly the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, weighed on investor sentiment," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

The sharp rise in crude oil prices above USD 110, continued disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, rupee depreciation beyond 94.5 and sustained FII outflows underscore mounting macroeconomic pressures on Indian markets, he added.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended lower, while South Korea's benchmark Kospi settled higher.

Markets in Europe were trading in positive territory.

US markets ended flat on Monday.

On Monday, the Sensex jumped 639.42 points or 0.83 per cent to settle at 77,303.63. The Nifty climbed 194.75 points or 0.81 per cent to close at 24,092.70.