Sensex down nearly 700 points: Why is the stock market falling today?

Benchmark equity indices extended losses on Tuesday morning, with the BSE Sensex falling nearly 700 points and the NSE Nifty slipping below the 23,650 mark as rising crude oil prices, a record-low rupee and escalating geopolitical concerns triggered broad-based selling across sectors.

As of 9:39 am, the Sensex was trading at 75,331.41, down 683.87 points or 0.90%, while the Nifty50 declined 189.65 points or 0.80% to 23,626.20.

Investor sentiment remained fragile after the rupee plunged to a fresh all-time low of 95.58 against the US dollar earlier in the day, intensifying concerns around inflation, India’s import bill and foreign fund outflows.

The market weakness comes amid rising fears surrounding the fragile US-Iran ceasefire and a sharp surge in crude oil prices. Brent crude prices have climbed significantly in recent sessions, raising concerns over higher fuel costs and pressure on India’s current account deficit.

India imports more than 85% of its crude oil requirements, making domestic markets highly sensitive to global energy price shocks.

Information technology stocks emerged among the biggest drags on the market. The Nifty IT index slumped nearly 3%, with Infosys falling over 3% and TCS declining close to 3%. Coforge, Persistent Systems, LTIMindtree and Tech Mahindra also traded sharply lower.

Analysts said concerns around slowing global economic growth and weaker technology spending by overseas clients continued to weigh on IT stocks.

Banking and financial shares also remained under pressure. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and SBI Life traded lower, dragging benchmark indices further down.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said the prime minister’s recent austerity appeal has also impacted sentiment in consumption-linked sectors.

“The austerity call by the prime minister impacted the stock prices of sectors which are expected to be negatively affected by reduced consumption. Stocks of sectors like jewellery, travel and hotels bore the brunt of selling yesterday,” he said.

He added that market direction will now depend heavily on crude oil prices and developments in West Asia.

“It is important to understand that these sectors will bounce back smartly if crude falls sharply and the austerity package becomes irrelevant. Therefore, watch out for the West Asia geopolitical situation and crude prices,” Vijayakumar said.

Despite the broader weakness, some oil-linked stocks managed to gain. ONGC rose nearly 4% in early trade as higher crude prices improved sentiment around upstream energy companies.

Analysts said markets are currently witnessing a risk-off phase, with investors reducing exposure to equities amid rising geopolitical uncertainty and fears of prolonged pressure from elevated oil prices.

Market participants are now closely tracking crude oil movements, foreign institutional investor activity and possible intervention by the Reserve Bank of India to stabilise the rupee.