SENSEX, NIFTY50 edge lower as spike in crude oil dents sentiment

The Indian equity benchmarks moved lower on Tuesday, August 11, as sentiment remained negative as Brent crude futures rose as much as 0.4% to trade above $88 per barrel.

The SENSEX fell as much as 312 points and NIFTY50 index dropped below its important psychological level of 24,500 dragged down by weakness in index heavyweights like Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank.

As of 9:22 am, the SENSEX was down 305 points at 78,237 and NIFTY50 index declined 88 points to 24,496.

Brent crude futures rose as much as 0.4% to trade above $88 per barrel after President Donald Trump said that the United States will seek compensation from Iran for casualties in the war.

Most of the Asian markets were trading lower tracking a surge in crude prices. China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.12%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.6% and South Korea's KOSPI advanced 0.8%.

Back home, nine of 15 major sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) were trading lower led by the NIFTY Private Bank index's 0.75% fall. NIFTY PSU Bank, Pharma, FMCG, Financial Services, Bank and Healthcare indices also fell between 0.2% and 0.75%.

On the other hand, auto, IT and consumer durables shares witnessing buying interest.

Broader markets were trading on a mixed note as NIFTY Midcap 100 index declined 0.32% while NIFTY Smallcap 100 index advanced 0.31%.

Among the individual stocks, Gland Pharma shares surged as much as 12% to hit a fresh 52-week high of ₹2,976 after its net profit on June quarter rose 47% to ₹317 crore from ₹215 crore in the same period last year.

Its revenue from operations advanced 20% to ₹1,800 crore from ₹1,505 crore a year earlier.

Tata Consumer Products was top loser in the NIFTY50 index, the stock fell 1.8% to ₹1,088. Max Healthcare, InterGlobe Aviation, Axis Bank, Apollo Hospitals, SBI Life, Grasim, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bharti Airtel also fell between 0.94% and 1.87%.

On the flip side, Titan, Eicher Motors, Bajaj Auto, HCL Technologies, ONGC, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv and TCS were notable gainers in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth was negative as 1,531 shares were declining while 1,342 were advancing on the NSE.