SENSEX drops 555 points, NIFTY50 closes below 23,650 on surging crude, rising bond yields

The Indian equity benchmarks dropped for a second straight session on Tuesday, September 8, as investor sentiment remained weak tracking a surge in crude prices and rising bond yield in United States.

The SENSEX fell as much as 555 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday low of 23,623 dragged down by losses in index heavyweights like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Larsen & Toubro.

The SENSEX closed 555 points lower at 75,577 and NIFTY50 index dropped 144 points to settle at 23,635.

Brent crude surged 2.53% to hit an intraday high of $99.45 per barrel as risks of a prolonged conflict in the Middle East grew after Iran threatened to retaliate against any new US attacks on its assets, heightening worries over supply disruption.

Iran warned on Monday that energy infrastructure across the Gulf, including US oil and gas interests, was vulnerable. This follows tit-for-tat strikes during the weekend, with no sign of progress towards a diplomatic breakthrough.

Meanwhile, treasury yields moved higher as investors look ahead to more key economic data releases this week, including wholesale inflation data, as rising energy costs weigh on markets.

Rising bond yields in US could trigger a flight of money from emerging markets like India to safety of US government debt, analysts noted.

Back home, nine of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended lower led by the NIFTY Private Bank index's 1% fall. NIFTY Financial Services, Bank, IT, Consumer Durables and Oil & Gas indices also fell between 0.25% and 1%.

On the flip side, pharma, healthcare, media, FMCG and auto shares witnessed buying interest.

Broader markets outperformed their larger peers as NIFTY Midcap 100 index rose 0.21% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index gained 0.17%.

Among the individual shares, Novartis India rose 13% to an intraday high of ₹ ₹1,856 after the company informed exchanges that it has entered into an agreement with Novartis Healthcare Private Limited.

As part of the agreement Novartis India will promote and execute NHPL's retina portfolio comprising the products Accentrix (Ranibizumab) and Pagenax (Brolucizumab) for the territory of India.

Shiprocket shares surged around 7% after its net loss narrowed to ₹14 crore in the first quarter of current financial year from ₹18 crore in the same period last year.

SBI Life was top loser in the NIFTY50 index, the stock fell 2.04% to close at ₹1,696. ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Ultratech Cement, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel, Cipla, Shriram Finance and Asian Paints also fell between 0.77% and 1.67%.

On the other hand, Bharat Electronics, Hindustan Unilever, Eicher Motors, ONGC, Adani Ports, Apollo Hospitals, Bajaj Auto and Dr Reddy's Labs were top gainers in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth was neutral as 1,833 shares ended lower while 1,711 closed higher on the NSE.