Mumbai, March 11 The benchmark equity indices, Sensex and Nifty, traded sharply lower during the afternoon session on Wednesday after a day of relative calm, as investor sentiment remained cautious amid ongoing tensions in West Asia and sustained foreign fund outflows.
Furthermore, selling pressure on blue-chip bank stocks also contributed to the market decline.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 1,045.15 points or 1.33%, closing at 77,160.83. The 50-share NSE Nifty declined by 290 points or 1.19%, closing at 23,971.60.
Among the 30 companies in the Sensex, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, and HDFC Bank were among the biggest decliners.
Sun Pharma, NTPC, Adani Ports, and Power Grid were among the gainers.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped by 0.06% to $87.75 per barrel.
According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 4,672.64 crore on Tuesday. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth Rs 6,333.26 crore.
"Although the equity markets staged a technical rebound on Tuesday, the underlying sentiment remains cautious as the deepening crisis in the Middle East begins to influence global financial markets through higher energy prices, disruptions to key shipping routes, and shifting investor risk appetite," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.
From a market standpoint, geopolitical disruptions of this nature tend to trigger sharp bouts of volatility as global investors rotate toward safer assets and reduce exposure to risk-sensitive markets, he added.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 traded over 1% higher. Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were also quoting in positive territory.
The US market ended flat on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the Sensex jumped by 639.82 points or 0.82%, closing at 78,205.98. The Nifty climbed by 233.55 points or 0.97%, closing at 24,261.60.