Peace talks in limbo, rise in crude oil affects D-cent, Sensex falls
The volatile nature of the second round of peace talks between the US and Iran weighed on markets globally. Market players said risk sentiment remains fragile due to the ongoing naval blockade in and around the Persian Gulf and the seizure of two vessels by Iran.Due to global risk-off sentiment, Sensex opened a little over 500 points lower, regained some lost ground at 78.1K points, but then slipped to an intra-day low of 77,574 points in a late selloff and closed slightly below that mark. Nifty on NSE also followed the same path and closed at 24,173 points with a fall of 205 points.According to Ankur Punj, MD and business head, Equirus Wealth, domestic markets fell sharply as weak global cues prompted local investors to reduce their investments in banking, IT, auto and realty stocks. “There is no clarity on peace talks between the US and Iran, which has led to a fresh rise in global crude oil prices.
“With the rupee surging, crossing the 94-per-dollar level and continuing (foreign) fund outflows from domestic equities, there will be a lot of pessimism in the near term.”This was the fourth consecutive session of weakness in the rupee against the dollar. This was the first time this month that the rupee closed below 94 points.Official data shows investors lost a little over Rs 3 lakh crore due to the selling, while the market capitalization of BSE now stands at Rs 466.4 lakh crore.The day’s fall in Sensex was due to sharp selling in HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries. On the other hand, some buying in stocks like L&T and Bharti Airtel offset the decline, but only marginally, BSE data showed.
Rupee fell 30 paise to close at 94.1 per dollar
The rupee on Thursday breached the 94-level and closed at 94.1, nearly 30 paise lower than its previous close of 93.8, after touching an intra-day low of 94.39 per US dollar. The currency has now fallen for four consecutive sessions and is down more than 1% so far this week. The weakness comes on the back of a nearly 15% rise in crude oil prices, with oil trading above $100 a barrel.