Mumbai, April 9 The benchmark stock market indices, Sensex and Nifty, experienced a significant drop in early trading on Thursday, following a strong rally in the previous session amidst fresh tensions in West Asia, raising concerns about a potential breach of the ceasefire.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 243.57 points to 77,319.33 in the opening trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty declined by 88.3 points to 23,909.05.
Later, the BSE benchmark quoted a drop of 728.93 points, bringing it down to 76,833.97, and the Nifty tumbled by 189.55 points to 23,821.45.
Among the 30 companies in the Sensex, Infosys, Adani Ports, InterGlobe Aviation, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, and ICICI Bank were among the major decliners.
NTPC, Bharat Electronics, Tata Steel, and Power Grid were among the gainers.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose by 2.09 per cent to USD 96.73 per barrel.
In Asian markets, the benchmark Kospi of South Korea, the Nikkei 225 index of Japan, the SSE Composite index of Shanghai, and the Hang Seng index of Hong Kong were trading lower after a sharp rally in the previous session.
"With fair valuations in the market now, if the ceasefire in West Asia holds, the market will remain resilient. However, there are concerns regarding the Israeli attack on Lebanon and its impact on the ceasefire," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.
US markets ended significantly higher on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped by 2.85 per cent, the Nasdaq Composite surged by 2.80 per cent, and the S&P 500 climbed by 2.51 per cent.
According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,811.97 crore on Wednesday. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth Rs 4,168.17 crore.
Concerns have resurfaced after Iran signaled potential breaches of the ceasefire amidst continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, limiting optimism and keeping global risk sentiment in check, said Hariprasad K, Research Analyst and Founder, Livelong Wealth.
On Wednesday, the Sensex jumped by 2,946.32 points or 3.95 per cent, closing at 77,562.90. The Nifty soared by 873.70 points or 3.78 per cent, closing at 23,997.35.
