The Indian stock market reversed all of its previous-day gains in Tuesday’s trade, 22 September, as sharp losses in the technology, financial and FMCG sectors weighed on the benchmarks. However, the indices recovered significantly from their intraday lows.
In line with their Asian peers, domestic equities opened on a positive note. However, accelerated selling in the first half of the session pushed the frontline indices down by as much as 0.61% at the day’s low. Subsequently, a rebound in buying interest helped the indices recover and pare nearly half of their intraday losses.
Despite global conditions turning more favourable for bulls, with a sharp retreat in crude oil prices and bond yields, investors continued to remain cautious amid a lack of clarity over whether the recent decline in oil prices will sustain and provide a more durable boost to market sentiment.
Indian stock market today
The Nifty 50 closed 0.36% lower at 23,329, while the Sensex slipped 0.27% to 74,653. The broader markets also mirrored the weak trend, with both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices ending the session lower.
Sectoral performance was mixed, with technology, cement, FMCG, PSU banks, oil and gas, and pharma sectors closing in the red. On the flip side, media, realty, chemicals, and metals managed to end the session on a positive note.
Turning to commodities, Brent crude erased gains of as much as 2.5% to trade at $97.8 per barrel, extending its losses into a fifth consecutive session and reaching its lowest level in two weeks. The decline came after reports suggested that Iran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the US lifted its blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the US takes initial steps towards easing military pressure, a senior Iranian government official told Kyodo News on Tuesday, as part of Tehran’s stepped-up efforts to revive negotiations with Washington, Reuters reported.
President Donald Trump is set to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York later on Tuesday, with traders watching for a possible meeting with his Iranian counterpart, which could prove pivotal.
