๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ต ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ต ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต
Indian stock markets opened sharply lower on Monday. The BSE Sensex and Nifty50 extended losses as weak global signals and rising tensions in West Asia hurt investor sentiment.
The broad sell-off erased more than Rs 5 lakh crore in investor wealth. The total market value of BSE-listed companies fell to around Rs 456 lakh crore. Every stock in the Sensex basket traded lower. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 each dropped more than 1%.
VK Vijayakumar serves as Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited. He said the market faced strong pressure as the week began. The Nasdaq fell 4.18% on Friday. This weakened global markets and caused heavy selling in markets with many tech stocks such as South Korea and Taiwan. He also noted Iran fired missiles at Israel in response to Israeli actions in Lebanon. Brent crude moved above $96 per barrel. US jobs data came in strong. Because of this, the Federal Reserve will likely hold interest rates steady. Vijayakumar added the sell-off in the US was led by tech stocks. This might trigger a shift from AI stocks to non-AI stocks. Such a shift might help India. He also said the rupee appreciated to 94.94 from a recent low of 96.96. This might slow foreign investor selling. GDP growth for FY26 stands at 7.7%. Better-than-expected Q4 results might also support the market.
Top reasons for the fall include:
- Fresh escalation in the Middle East. Israel reportedly targeted military sites in western and central Iran after Tehran launched missiles at Israeli locations on Sunday. Local media reported explosions in Tehran, Tabriz, and Isfahan. The conflict has raised fears of a wider war.
- Heavy selling in global markets. South Korea's Kospi fell 9% in early trade and triggered a 20-minute trading halt. The index has now fallen about 14% from record highs set last week. Japan's Nikkei dropped about 4%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng and China's Shanghai Composite each fell more than 1%. On Friday, the Nasdaq posted its biggest one-day drop since April 2025. It fell more than 4%.
- Crude oil prices surged. Brent crude futures rose about 4% to near $97 per barrel. US WTI crude gained more than 3.5% to approach $94 per barrel. Fears grew over possible disruption to the Strait of Hormuz. Over one-fifth of global oil and gas supplies pass through this route.
- Fresh concerns over US interest rates. US employers added 172,000 jobs in May. Economists had expected around 80,000. Strong hiring data reduces the chance of a rate cut. Higher US rates often raise pressure on the Reserve Bank of India.
- The rupee weakened. It slipped 17 paise to 95.35 against the US dollar in early trade. The currency had strengthened on Friday after the RBI kept the repo rate at 5.25% and announced steps to attract foreign capital.