Sensex drops 524 points, Nifty at 23,949 on US-Iran geopolitical flare-up
The BSE Sensex tumbled 524 points or 0.67% to 76,745 in early trade on Tuesday, 5 May, while the Nifty50 slipped 170 points or 0.7% to 23,949, as fresh escalation in the US-Iran conflict rattled global risk appetite and triggered broad-based selling across Indian equity markets. The selloff came as rival naval blockades in the Strait of Hormuz threatened to unravel an already fragile ceasefire, pushing Brent crude to around $113 per barrel.
Sectors Under Pressure
Selling pressure was broad-based, with auto, financials, banking, consumer durables, and metal stocks bearing the brunt. The Nifty Auto, Nifty Private Bank, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Consumer Durables, and Nifty Metal indices each declined by up to 0.7%.
Among the top laggards from the Nifty50 basket were Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finance, Maruti Suzuki, Eicher Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Bajaj Finserv, IndiGo, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Trent, and Tata Steel. In contrast, Nifty IT and Nifty FMCG bucked the trend with positive momentum.
Volatility Spikes, Macro Headwinds Mount
The volatility gauge India VIX spiked over 2% to around 19, signalling heightened anxiety among traders. A market expert noted that any sentiment boost from the BJP's electoral victory in West Bengal is unlikely to sustain, with the market trajectory now firmly tied to developments in West Asia.
