Sensex tumbles 493 points as crude oil tops $91 a barrel

Indian equity benchmarks closed lower on Tuesday as elevated crude oil prices, rising US bond yields and weakening prospects of a diplomatic breakthrough in West Asia prompted investors to remain cautious.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 492.70 points, or 0.63 per cent, to settle at 77,235.46, marking its third consecutive decline. The index dropped as much as 493.80 points to 77,234.36 towards the end of the session.

The broader NSE Nifty extended its losing streak to a sixth trading day, declining 132.75 points, or 0.55 per cent, to close at 24,154.90.

Asian Paints, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Bharti Airtel, Tata Consultancy Services and Hindustan Unilever were among the principal laggards in the Sensex pack. Axis Bank, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj Finance ended higher.

The BSE MidCap Select index declined 0.46 per cent, while the SmallCap Select index gained 0.24 per cent.

Technology shares came under substantial pressure, with the BSE Focused IT index falling 1.84 per cent. Realty, public-sector banks, consumer durables, fast-moving consumer goods, metals and capital goods were also among the sectors that ended in negative territory.

Indices tracking private banks, hospitals and healthcare companies registered gains.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.17 per cent to $91.02 a barrel, adding to concerns that sustained energy costs could fuel inflation and delay reductions in interest rates.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, said crude oil prices remained the main drag on sentiment, while rising US bond yields and weak global cues prolonged the risk-off mood in domestic equities.

He added that the expiry of the temporary ceasefire between the US and Iran had reduced hopes of a resolution in West Asia and intensified inflation concerns. Higher US yields also made emerging-market assets relatively less attractive, while technology shares declined on fears that prolonged high interest rates could weaken global spending on IT services.

Several Tata Group companies closed lower on Tuesday. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles fell 2.28 per cent, followed by Tata Chemicals at 1.63 per cent and TCS at 1.47 per cent.

Tata Consumer Products, Voltas, Tata Communications, Tata Investment Corporation, Tata Steel, Titan, Tata Power and Trent also ended in the red.

The declines came as Tata Sons’ annual general meeting was adjourned because of a lack of quorum, according to sources. Representatives jointly nominated by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust could not attend the meeting, they said.

The AGM had assumed significance after Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran decided not to seek reappointment when his term concludes in February 2027.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed lower, while China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng posted marginal gains. European markets traded on a mixed note after US equities ended lower on Monday.

Ponmudi R., chief executive of Enrich Money, said Indian shares had followed weak global markets as rising oil prices and a sharp sell-off in US government bonds affected risk appetite.

Foreign institutional investors sold domestic equities worth ₹2,535.10 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

In the previous session, the Sensex had declined 281.09 points to 77,728.16, while the Nifty had fallen 78.35 points to 24,287.65.