SENSEX drops over 600 points, NIFTY50 below 24,200 as crude oil jumps above $100 per barrel

The Indian equity benchmarks staged a gap down opening on Thursday, April 23, as investor sentiment was dented by surging crude oil prices and a weak rupee against the US dollar.

Crude oil price moved above $100 per barrel as confusions deepened in the Strait of Hormuz as Iran attacked three ships near the crucial waterway whose closure has plunged the world into an energy crisis after tankers carrying a fifth of the world’s oil were blocked from using the channel, news agency AP reported.

Meanwhile, the rupee slid 34 paise to 94.12 against the US dollar, shaking the investor sentiment towards equities, analysts noted.

The SENSEX fell as much as 823 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday low of 24,135.

As of 9:22 am, the SENSEX was down 595 points at 77,921 and NIFTY50 index declined 185 points to 24,193.

Brent crude jumped as much as 4% to hit an intraday high of $106.08 per barrel after reports emerged of Iran attacking three ships in the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing ceasefire deal with the United States and the military blockade imposed by America at the key trading route.

Asian markets were trading lower with Japan's Nikkei falling 1%, China's Shanghai Composite declining 0.33%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbling 1% while South Korea's KOSPI rose 0.2%.

Back home, selling pressure was broad-based as 12 of 15 major sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) were trading lower led by the NIFTY Consumer Durables index's 1.6% fall. NIFTY Bank, Financial Services, Realty, Metal, Private Bank, PSU Bank, Auto, FMCG and IT indices also fell between 0.5% and 1.3%.

On the flip side, pharma and healthcare shares were witnessing buying interest.

Broader markets were witnessing a mild selling pressure as NIFTY Midcap 100 index declined 0.4% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index fell 0.1%.

Tech Mahindra was top loser in the NIFTY50 index, the stock fell 2.5% to ₹1,426. Eternal, Mahindra & Mahindra, Trent, Asian Paints, Shriram Finance, IndiGo, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, Max Healthcare and Infosys also fell between 1.4% and 2.3%.

On the flip side, Dr Reddy's Labs was top gainer in the NIFTY50 index, the stock jumped 5% to ₹1,278. Cipla, ONGC, Sun Pharma, Nestle India, Coal India, Jio Financial Services and JSW Steel were also among the gainers.

The overall market breadth was negative as 1,554 shares were declining while 1,74 were advancing on the NSE.