Sensex, Nifty fell as Brent crude topped $90, dragging oil-sensitive stocks lower. Strategists pointed to US-Iran tensions and cautious global cues ahead of US CPI.
Alpha Score of 48 reflects weak overall profile with strong momentum, poor value, moderate quality. Based on 3 of 4 signals – score is capped at 90 until remaining data ingests.
Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty opened lower on Wednesday after Brent crude climbed above $90 a barrel for the first time since October.
The BSE Sensex fell 36 points to 78,097 in early trade. The NSE Nifty slid 31 points to 24,444. By mid-morning, the Sensex was down 211 points at 77,953, while the Nifty lost 65 points to 24,411.
Bharti Airtel, Mahindra & Mahindra and UltraTech Cement led the losses among Sensex components. Adani Ports, Titan and Bajaj Finance also fell. On the winning side, State Bank of India, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank and Asian Paints gained.
VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, said the market was moving sideways, restrained by Brent crude's return above $89. He cited ongoing US-Iran skirmishes, including a US military attack on a Panama-flagged container ship.
Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, said overnight cues from Wall Street were subdued. The S&P 500 and Dow each dropped about 0.3%, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.6%. Investors were cautious ahead of Wednesday's US consumer price inflation data and the continuing stalemate between Washington and Tehran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
In Asia, South Korea's KOSPI jumped 4.6%. Japan's Nikkei 225 and Shanghai's SSE Composite also traded higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped.
Brent crude oil traded 1.2% higher at $90.01 a barrel. Foreign institutional investors bought Indian equities worth Rs 258.55 crore on Tuesday, exchange data showed.
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