The markets came under heavy selling pressure on Wednesday as rising crude oil prices, renewed geopolitical tensions and weakness in technology stocks combined to unsettle investors. The Sensex fell more than 600 points in early trade, while the Nifty 50 slipped below the crucial 23,500 mark.
The BSE Sensex opened 584 points lower at 74,993.37, down 0.77%, while the Nifty 50 declined 147 points, or 0.62%, to 23,487.85. By around 10 am, the Sensex was down about 0.83% at 74,954, while the Nifty had fallen 0.67% to 23,474.40.
The sharp fall came after another weak session on Tuesday, when the Sensex had dropped 555 points and the Nifty closed 144 points lower. The latest decline pushed the benchmark indices deeper into a period of market volatility, with investors increasingly focused on crude oil, global interest rates and developments in the Middle East.
Crude oil emerged as the biggest concern for Indian equities. Brent crude moved closer to $100 a barrel after fresh escalation in the Iran-US conflict raised fears of further disruption to global oil supplies. Brent was reported at around $99.50 a barrel, after rising for a fourth consecutive session.
For India, which relies heavily on imported crude, a sustained rise in oil prices can quickly become a broader economic concern. Higher energy costs can widen the trade deficit, put pressure on inflation and affect corporate margins. Investors are also watching the possibility of higher interest rates in the US if inflationary pressures persist.
The pressure was particularly visible in technology stocks. The Nifty IT index fell around 3%, with major names including HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services among the prominent losers. HCL Tech declined more than 3% at the open, while Tech Mahindra and Infosys also fell sharply. TCS was down around 1.8%.
Coforge was among the biggest individual casualties. The stock fell as much as 9% after chairman Om Prakash Bhatt resigned following concerns raised by an internal audit over the company’s board evaluation process. The development added another layer of pressure to an already weak IT sector.
Not every stock was caught in the sell-off. Sun Pharma emerged among the notable gainers in the early Sensex trade, while Larsen & Toubro and Kotak Mahindra Bank also posted modest gains. The resilience in pharmaceutical and select financial stocks provided some support, although it was not enough to offset the broader selling pressure.
Biocon was another stock in focus. Its shares gained more than 3% to around ₹404 after 1.65 crore shares changed hands in a block deal worth about ₹638 crore. The transaction involved Active Pine, which was looking to sell up to 1.66 crore shares, or roughly 1% of Biocon’s equity.
Sectoral performance reflected the cautious mood. IT and IT-enabled services were the biggest laggards, while auto, banks, financial services, FMCG, media and realty stocks also remained under pressure. Metals bucked the broader trend and traded higher, while oil and gas and healthcare stocks showed relative resilience.
Foreign portfolio investors are also becoming a source of concern. According to market updates, FPIs sold around $1.6 billion of Indian equities over five of the past six trading sessions after buying nearly $6.85 billion between mid-June and late August. Rising crude prices and higher global bond yields have reduced the appeal of emerging-market assets.
Domestic institutional investors have provided some cushion, but the shift in foreign flows has added to the pressure on large-cap stocks. At the same time, the growing pipeline of IPOs and qualified institutional placements is drawing money away from the secondary market, making liquidity conditions another factor investors are watching closely.
The market is also keeping an eye on the National Stock Exchange’s proposed IPO. The NSE is reportedly considering reducing the issue size to around ₹24,000-25,000 crore from the earlier proposed ₹30,000 crore. Meanwhile, Reliance Industries is preparing to raise around ₹12,500 crore through the domestic bond market, highlighting continued corporate fundraising activity despite the unsettled equity environment.
Technically, the immediate support for the Nifty is seen around 23,500-23,450, followed by 23,300. The 23,800-23,850 zone remains an important resistance area. A sustained move above 24,000 could improve sentiment, but for now, investors are likely to remain highly sensitive to crude prices and developments in the Middle East.
With oil approaching the psychologically important $100 mark and technology stocks facing renewed selling, investors are likely to remain cautious until there is greater clarity on geopolitical tensions, crude prices and the global interest-rate outlook.