Mumbai: Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower Tuesday, registering their second day of decline, as rising crude oil prices and the US-Iran hostilities kept risk appetite subdued.
Selling in blue-chip stocks ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries also dragged the markets lower.
The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 555.23 points, or 0.73 per cent, to settle at 75,577.58. During the day, it tanked 579.46 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 75,553.35.
The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 144.05 points, or 0.61 per cent, to end at 23,635.10.
Among the 30 Sensex firms, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank were the major laggards.
Bharat Electronics, Adani Ports, Hindustan Unilever and InterGlobe Aviation were the gainers.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 1.45 per cent to USD 98.36 per barrel.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended lower, while Shanghai’s SSE Composite index settled higher.
Markets in Europe were trading lower.
“Indian equity markets ended lower on a weak note, extending their slide to a seven-week low and maintaining the prevailing bearish trend as elevated crude oil prices and persistent geopolitical uncertainty continued to weigh on investor sentiment. Selling pressure remained visible through the session,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.
US markets were closed Monday for the Labour Day holiday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 280.13 crore Monday, according to exchange data.
On Monday, the Sensex dropped 382.62 points, or 0.50 per cent, to settle at 76,132.81. The Nifty declined 118.55 points, or 0.50 per cent, to end at 23,779.15.