Sensex, Nifty plunge over 1% in early trade amid global tensions on U.S.-Iran talks

Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty50 plunged in early trade on Friday, tracking weakness in global markets as investors assessed mixed signals around ongoing US-Iran talks. 

At 9:20 am, the Nifty50 declined 1.11% or 258.85 points to 23,047.70 while the Sensex fell 1.18% or 889.02 points to 74,392.45. Broader markets lagged behind the benchmarks, with the Nifty MidCap and Nifty SmallCap indices slipping 1.5% and 1.55%, respectively. 

On the sectoral front, PSU Bank stocks led the losses, falling 2.6%. Realty and media stocks also remained under pressure. On the other hand, IT stocks bucked the trend, with the Nifty IT index rising 0.61%. 

Stock markets were closed on Thursday on account of Ram Navami.

Asian equities under pressure 

Asian equities largely declined after Wall Street recorded its steepest fall since the onset of the Iran conflict, amid growing uncertainty over prospects of de-escalation. 

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.2% to 52,982.86 while South Korea’s Kospi dropped 3.1% to 5,293.26. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.1% to 24,825.50, whereas China’s Shanghai Composite edged up 0.1% to 3,893.21. 

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.5%, and Taiwan’s Taiex was down 1.5%. 

On Thursday, US markets saw sharp losses, with the S&P 500 falling 1.7% to 6,477.16, marking its worst session since January. 

Crude eases on pause in US action Oil prices softened in the Asian session after US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day pause in strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure, citing progress in talks with Tehran. He also indicated that Iran had allowed 10 oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. 

However, Iran has not officially confirmed any ongoing negotiations with the US. 

Crude trades above $100 a barrel 

Brent crude was trading 1.26% lower at $106.65 per barrel, according to Reuters data. 

Rupee hits record low The Indian rupee weakened past the 94-per-dollar mark to hit a fresh record low of 94.25, amid concerns that prolonged tensions in the Middle East could disrupt energy supplies and strain import-dependent economies. 

The currency has fallen about 4% since the conflict began late last month, breaching its previous record low of 93.98 touched earlier this week.