Bearish momentum enters 5th day amid boiling oil and global jitters

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices extended their losing streak for the fourth consecutive session on Thursday, with the Sensex falling 363 points as a sharp rise in crude oil prices, triggered by escalating tensions in West Asia, dampened investor sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 363.66 points, or 0.47%, to close at a one-month low of 76,391.39, after slipping as much as 603 points during intra-day trade. The NSE Nifty fell 126.65 points, or 0.53%, to settle at a three-week low of 23,869.60.

Heavyweight stocks including Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel and Bajaj Finance weighed on the indices. Adani Ports emerged as the biggest Sensex loser, while Axis Bank, SBI, Tata Steel and InterGlobe Aviation also ended lower. Mahindra & Mahindra, TCS and Bajaj Finserv were among the gainers.

Market experts attributed the decline to multiple headwinds. Brent crude climbed over 4.5% to $98.32 a barrel amid fears of supply disruptions following fresh attacks on oil tankers in the Red Sea. The surge in oil prices heightened concerns over inflation, higher input costs and pressure on corporate earnings.

Investor sentiment was also hurt by persistent geopolitical tensions involving the US and Iran, continued foreign institutional investor (FII) selling, and concerns over global AI spending.

FIIs sold equities worth Rs 819.20 crore on Wednesday, adding to market weakness.

Broader markets underperformed the benchmarks, with the BSE SmallCap and MidCap indices falling over 1% each. Realty was the worst-performing sector, followed by Services, Telecom, Power, Utilities, Commodities, Bankex and PSU Banks, while Auto and Insurance managed modest gains.

Market breadth remained weak, with 2,684 stocks declining, 1,556 advancing and 151 remaining unchanged on the BSE.In the past four trading sessions, the Sensex has lost 1,760 points (2.25%), while the Nifty has declined nearly 465 points (1.9%).