Indian Stock Market Falls: Sensex Drops Over 500 Points, Nifty Slips in Early Trade

India’s benchmark indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 declined sharply in early trading on Friday, reversing gains seen in the previous session. Weak global cues and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East weighed on investor sentiment.

At around 9:16 AM, the Sensex dropped about 525 points, or 0.66 percent, to trade at 79,490, while the Nifty slipped 154 points to 24,612.

Among the top losers on the Nifty were InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of IndiGo, which fell nearly 2.4 percent. Shares of ICICI Bank declined around 1.6 percent. Other major stocks such as Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, and Larsen & Toubro also traded lower by around 1.5 percent each.

However, information technology stocks provided some support to the market. Infosys gained nearly 1 percent, while HCLTech, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra also traded in positive territory.

Meanwhile, Bharat Electronics Limited led the gainers with an increase of about 1.1 percent. The Nifty IT index also rose more than 1 percent, while sectors like Nifty Bank, auto, infrastructure, and realty remained under pressure during early trade.

On Thursday, markets had staged a strong recovery after several sessions of decline. The Sensex surged nearly 900 points, while the Nifty climbed more than 285 points, supported by buying in metal, infrastructure, energy, and auto stocks.

Global cues also remained weak as major US indices, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average, ended lower on Thursday. Rising tensions in the Middle East pushed up crude oil prices, raising concerns over inflation and interest rate cuts.

Market experts believe that movements in Brent Crude Oil will remain a key factor for global markets in the near term. If Brent crude stays around $85 per barrel, the impact may remain limited, but a rise above $90 could put pressure on global equities.