Mumbai, September 9 (TNA) With the BSE Sensex tanking 813.35 points (1.08%) to close at 74,764.23 and the NSE Nifty 50 falling 203.60 points (0.86%) to 23,431.50, marking its lowest close in about 13 weeks amid a sharp spike in crude oil prices and a rout in IT stocks.
The benchmarks opened lower under pressure from Brent crude crossing the psychologically important $100-a-barrel mark amid escalating Middle East tensions, and remained in the red for most of the day before closing near the lows, with Nifty opening around 23,522, touching an intraday high near 23,571 and a low close to 23,430, while Sensex slid from the 75,500 zone to finish below 74,800.
Bank Nifty, a key bellwether, fell 482 points (0.85%) to 56,295.55, underlining stress in financials, while the broader market also came under selling pressure. Only two of the 11 major Nifty sectoral indices ended in positive territory, with Nifty Metal jumping 1.79% and Nifty Energy edging up about 0.6%, supported by oil & gas names as crude prices soared, while the rest of the sectors were firmly in the red, led by Nifty IT, which was down more than 3%, dragged by heavy selling in large-cap names, and Nifty Realty, which fell around 2%, with Media, FMCG and Private Bank indices each shedding close to 1%.
Among Nifty 50 stocks, Infosys led the losers with a fall of about 5%, while other IT heavyweights such as HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Wipro and Mphasis also saw sharp declines, whereas Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Coal India, Tata Steel and select healthcare names like Max Healthcare outperformed, providing some support to the indices.
Market analysts cited a combination of global and domestic factors, including the crude oil surge, which heightened inflation and fiscal deficit concerns, especially for India as a major oil importer, and dented risk appetite, along with an IT sector shock after concerns around leadership and governance at a major IT firm, following the resignation of chairman O.P. Bhatt at Coforge amid internal audit observations, which sparked a broader sectoral rout, and weak global cues from mixed to negative trends in Asian and US markets, alongside geopolitical tensions in West Asia, which kept foreign investors cautious.
With Nifty now below the 23,500 mark and close to its July lows, traders are watching the 23,300–23,070 zone as the next key support, while any bounce is expected to face resistance around 23,625–23,650, and for Sensex, the focus is on whether it can hold above the 74,500–74,700 zone, with a decisive break below potentially opening the door to further downside toward 74,000, analysts said.