Indian equity markets came under heavy selling pressure on Thursday as renewed uncertainty over the US-Iran conflict, elevated crude oil prices and cautious foreign investor sentiment weighed on benchmarks. The Sensex and Nifty both declined sharply during intraday trading, extending recent volatility in the domestic market.
The sell-off followed weak global cues and continuing concerns over the economic impact of higher energy prices. Oil markets have remained sensitive to developments in West Asia, with investors closely monitoring the possibility of further disruptions to energy supplies. Rising crude prices can add to inflationary pressures for oil-importing economies such as India.
Foreign institutional investor activity has also remained an important factor for Indian equities. Recent sessions have seen overseas investors remain cautious amid global uncertainty, even as domestic institutional investors have continued to provide support to the market.
The latest decline came after the Sensex and Nifty had shown some recovery earlier in the week, supported partly by softer crude prices. On Thursday morning, the Sensex opened lower and fell more than 500 points, while the Nifty slipped below the 23,300 level.
Attention is also focused on the Trump-Xi summit in Washington. The two leaders are expected to discuss trade, tariffs and wider economic issues, with markets watching for developments that could influence global risk sentiment.
