SENSEX, NIFTY50 edge lower; Kotak Mahindra Bank falls after CEO opts against second term

The Indian equity benchmarks edged lower on Monday, June 29, as investor sentiment turned cautious as geopolitical tensions flared up between United States and Iran after US S President Donald Trump on Sunday said that the United States carried out air strikes on Iranian missile and drone storage sites in a retaliatory move against the West Asian country, after an alleged violation of the ceasefire agreement.

The SENSEX declined as much as 247 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday low of 24,005.

As of 9:28 am, the SENSEX was down 150 points at 76,950 and NIFTY50 index declined 2 points to 24,054.

Most of the Asian markets were trading lower as tensions resurfaced between United States and Iran sending crude oil prices higher and US dollar to near a one-year high.

Japan's Nikkei fell 0.6%, China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.5% and South Korea's KOSPI fell 2%.

Crude oil prices edged higher in global markets after news agency AP reported that Iran again launched drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday following new U.S. airstrikes against the Islamic Republic, and threatened a “complete halt” in negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks.

Back home, eight of 15 major sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) were trading lower led by the NIFTY IT index's nearly 1% fall. NIFTY Oil & Gas, Media, Bank, Private Bank, PSU Bank, Financial Services and Auto indices also declined between 0.2% and 0.6%.

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

Broader markets were also facing selling pressure as NIFTY Midcap 100 index declined 0.12% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index fell 0.32%.

Kotak Mahindra Bank was top loser in the NIFTY50 index, the stock fell 2.3% to ₹400 after the bank on Saturday said its MD and CEO Ashok Vaswani will quit upon completion of his three-year tenure and will not seek re-appointment when his current term ends on December 31, 2026.

Adani Enterprises, Mahindra & Mahindra, InterGlobe Aviation, HCL Tech, Tata Motors PV, TCS and Jio Financial Services also declined between 0.7% and 2.2%.

On the other hand, Dr Reddy's Labs, Max Healthcare, Trent, Eternal, Shriram Finance, Cipla, Nestle India and Asian Paints were top gainer in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth was negative as 1,608 shares were declining while 1,281 were advancing on the NSE.