Key Points

The stock market sheds gains of last week; broader markets are also seen underperforming.

The stock market shed gains of last week and broader markets were also seen underperforming.

At the end of today's trading session, the BSE Sensex ended at 81,167.35, declining 524.62 points or 0.64 per cent, while the Nifty 50 declined 152.20 points or 0.61 per cent to 24,739.60.

In today's session, except for the media, realty, all other sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended in the red, with FMCG, PSU Bank, oil & gas, power, and telecom down 0.5-1 per cent.

The BSE midcap and smallcap indices also ended in the red.

According to the market analysts, Israel's military actions against Iran have heightened concerns over stability in the Middle East, a region crucial for global oil supply, impacting investment sentiment in the market.

Naveen Vyas, Senior Vice President of Anand Rathi Global Finance, attributed the fall in Indian stocks primarily to geographical tensions in the Middle East.

"Since India relies on imports for over 80 per cent of its crude oil needs, a conflict between Iran and Israel could lead to a spike in Brent crude prices. Iran holds about 9 per cent of the world's oil reserves, and any disruption could impact several key Indian sectors, including oil marketing companies (such as BPCL, HPCL, and IOC) and paints (like Asian Paints and Berger Paints), as well as the automobile and cement industries," said Vyas.

He said these sectors may experience demand slowdown or margin pressure if tensions escalate and persist for more than 3-6 months, particularly if Brent crude prices rise above the USD 82-85 per barrel mark.

The conflict has resulted in a sharp rise in Brent crude oil prices, which spiked to over USD 75 per barrel. "This surge raises concerns about inflation and increased input costs for businesses, particularly in energy-intensive sectors," said Vinit Bolinjkar, Head of Research - Ventura.

Bolinjkar said that in response to the heightened risks, investors have shifted their portfolios towards safer assets like gold and government bonds, leading to a sell-off in equities.

"The index is likely to continue its range-bound move between the 24500 and the 25200 levels until a significant break of one of these levels is seen," said Dr Praveen Dwarakanath, Vice President of Hedged in.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said Indian equity benchmarks experienced downward pressure, driven by weak global cues and foreign institutional outflows.

"Although India's CPI for May eased below the RBI's comfort threshold--offering a positive macro signal--this was largely overshadowed by external headwinds," he added.

- ANI