Indian equity benchmarks opened lower on Wednesday as rising crude oil prices and escalating tensions in the Middle East weighed on investor sentiment.
Information technology stocks led the decline, with both the Sensex and Nifty falling around 0.5 per cent in early trade.
The Nifty 50 opened more than 100 points lower at 23,522.05, while the Sensex dropped over 350 points to 75,216.22.
Nifty IT emerged as the worst-performing sectoral index, falling around 3 per cent.
Infosys declined 3.34 per cent, Tech Mahindra fell 2.73 per cent, HCL Technologies dropped 2.60 per cent, Wipro slipped 2.34 per cent, and TCS lost 1.71 per cent.
The Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom index fell around 2 per cent, while financial services, auto, private banking and oil and gas stocks traded lower.
Healthcare, consumer durables and metal stocks bucked the trend, with the respective indices gaining 0.27 per cent, 0.38 per cent and 0.39 per cent.
Market experts identified rising crude prices and strong IPO activity as key pressures on equities.
Brent crude traded near $100 a barrel amid heightened US-Iran tensions, while the booming IPO market continued to attract liquidity away from secondary-market stocks.
Experts noted that IPO listing gains have reached around 22 per cent since June, attracting both retail and institutional investors despite the Nifty’s negative year-to-date return.
FII Selling and IPO Investments
Foreign institutional investors have sold equities worth around ₹2.84 lakh crore through exchanges this year, while investing nearly ₹36,000 crore in IPOs.
Analysts warned investors against blindly subscribing to IPOs, as some could fall below issue prices.
The Nifty’s key support zone remains 23,500-23,000, while a move above 23,650 could trigger short covering.
Asian markets traded mixed, while crude prices rose for a fourth straight session amid Gulf tensions.
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