Sensex falls over 250 points, Nifty below 24,250 as Mideast peace hopes fade. More pain ahead?

India's stock market experienced significant losses on Monday, with the Sensex falling over 250 points to 77,470 and the Nifty 50 dipping below 23,250 for the sixth consecutive session. The broader market showed mixed performance, with some sectors, such as Nifty IT and Nifty Pharma, gaining a slight edge, while others like Nifty IT and Nifty Realty suffered losses of over 1%.

Tech giants Infosys, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, IndiGo, and HCL Tech were among the biggest losers, while TCS, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, and Adani Ports showed minor declines.

Analysts suggest that the market might face further pain due to two key factors. Firstly, Brent crude oil prices surged above $91 following tensions between Iran and the US. Secondly, the US 10-year bond yield rose to 4.73%, negatively impacting Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) inflows, which had previously shown positivity. These developments could potentially discourage FII investments and lead to further market volatility.

Despite the challenges, the resilient Indian economy and positive earnings growth outlook are expected to remain a tailwind for the market. This tailwind may encourage domestic investors to accumulate high-quality stocks during market dips, according to VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments. Retail investors are advised to take advantage of the current situation to accumulate quality stocks for long-term gains.

However, the overall market remains volatile, and near-term upsides may struggle to surpass the 24,540-24,666 level, while a potential leap to 24,850-25,100 is considered unlikely.