Market at close: SENSEX falls 845 points, NIFTY50 below 22,300; key factors behind today’s market fall

Domestic markets closed lower for second straight day as the Iran-Israel conflict has escalated tensions in the Middle East region.

SENSEX closed 1.1% lower at 73,399, while NIFTY50 declined 1.1% at 22,272. Amid global turmoil, market sentiments were lower today.

Out of the NIFTY50 space, 44 stocks were declining. Shriram Finance, Wipro, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance were the top losers, while ONGC, Hindalco, Maruti, Nestle India, and Britannia gained the most.

NIFTY Bank closed at 47,773, down 1.63% or 791 points lower. Meanwhile, NIFTY Midcap100 is also down 1.57%, while NIFTY Smallcap100 also shed 1.73%.

Except for NIFTY Oil and Gas (+0.4%), all other sectoral indices closed in red. NIFTY Media (-2.23%), PSU Bank (-1.98%) and Financial Services (-1.75%) fell the most.

Key factors leading to stock market fall

Iran launched a drone strike on Israel on Saturday in a retaliatory action for a suspected Israel strike on Tehran's consulate in Damascus on April 1, leading to the death of seven personnel.

The worsening situation in the Middle East impacted market sentiments. As a result, investors turned cautious and restored to profit taking. As per experts, current geopolitical tensions and uncertainty around the US interest rate cuts could impact the markets.

The Asian markets were trading lower on April 15. Japan's benchmark index, Nikkei 225, was trading at 0.7% on Monday, while Singapore's Hang Seng index fell 0.8%.

The US Treasury yields remained near recent highs as traders adjusted their anticipations for the Fed's rate cut pace and scale this year. The 10-year yield stood at 4.52%, while the two-year yield was at 4.89%.

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