Stock Market LIVE: GIFT Nifty signals tepid open; Kospi down 2%; Brent rises on US-Iran tension

India’s stock markets witnessed a sharp decline on Monday, with the BSE Sensex falling over 500 points and the NSE Nifty50 opening below the 23,000 mark. The decline was driven by rising global crude oil prices, geopolitical tensions, and continued foreign selling by investors. The BSE Sensex dropped 526.19 points, or 0.71%, to 73,369.55, while the Nifty 50 fell 175.10 points, or 0.76%, to 22,965.40 in early trade.

The cautious tone followed seven consecutive sessions of losses for both indices, with the two benchmarks declining nearly 6% over the period. Pre-existing concerns about the impact of high crude prices and geopolitical uncertainties weighed heavily on investor sentiment. Brent crude futures rose 1.5% to around $106 a barrel, adding to the pressure on Indian equities, which is the world’s third-largest crude importer.

Foreign investor selling continued to weigh on domestic equities, with provisional data showing net sellers of Indian shares worth Rs 36.94 billion ($385.54 million) on Friday alone. This marks a total of $1.8 billion in foreign selling so far this year, accounting for $25.86 billion in total selling for the year. Global developments surrounding US-Iran diplomacy and oil prices will remain critical for the Indian markets.

Domestic factors such as industrial production data for August and the upcoming HSBC manufacturing PMI reading, foreign institutional investor activity, and auto sales figures will also be closely monitored during the week. Global bond yields and the rupee will continue to be important factors to watch, as persistent oil-related demand for dollars and continued foreign selling could keep the currency under pressure. However, RBI intervention has helped contain excessive volatility in the market.