Bears tighten grip

• Escalating West Asia tensions:Geopolitical conflict intensified investor risk-aversion

• Crude oil surge past $100/barrel:Brent crude jumped 2.67% to $100.5, raising inflation and import-cost concerns for India

• IT sector sell-off:HCL Tech (-4.55%), Infosys, TCS and Tech Mahindra led the decline

• Banking and FMCG drag:HDFC Bank and Hindustan Unilever also weighed on indices

• FII outflows:Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs123.19 crore, adding to selling pressure

• Rising volatility:India VIX climbed over 6%, signaling increased hedging and caution

Mumbai

Fallingfor the third straight day, benchmark stock index Sensex tumbled 813 points to a three-month low, and the Nifty settled below 23,450 following selling in IT, FMCG, financial services and oil & gas shares, as escalating tensions in West Asia drove crude oil to over $100 per barrel.

The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 813.35 points, or 1.08 per cent, to settle at the day’s low of 74,764.23, also the lowest closing level in nearly three months.

The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 203.60 points, or 0.86 per cent, to end at a nearly three-month low of 23,431.50. The index had closed near this level on June 11 previously.

Among the 30 Sensex firms, HCL Tech fell the most, down 4.55 per cent. Infosys dropped 4.43 per cent, Tech Mahindra by 3.87 per cent, and Tata Consultancy Services by 2.26 per cent. HDFC Bank and Hindustan Unilever were also among the major laggards.

Adani Ports was the lead gainer, rising by 3.67 per cent . Tata Steel, Trent and NTPC were among the winners. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 2.67 per cent to $100.5 per barrel. India VIX climbed more than 6 per cent, reflecting increased hedging activity and growing caution over the near-term outlook, he added.

The BSE SmallCap Select index declined 0.59 per cent and the MidCap Select index dipped 0.52 per cent. Among the BSE sectoral indices, IT tanked the most by 3.21 per cent, followed by Focused IT (2.99 per cent), Realty (2.01 per cent), Insurance (1.49 per cent), Housing Finance (1.39 per cent), Top 10 Banks (1.03 per cent) and Bankex (0.74 per cent). Commodities, Energy, Utilities, Hospitals, Metal, Power and Services were the winners. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 123.19 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. On Tuesday, the Sensex dropped 555.23 points, or 0.73 per cent, to settle at 75,577.58. The Nifty declined 144.05 points, or 0.61 per cent, to end at 23,635.10.