The Indian stock market remained under pressure in Wednesday's trade, September 9, as the escalating conflict in the Middle East pushed oil prices to a six-week high, stoking inflation fears across the world. India is particularly vulnerable to rising crude prices given its heavy dependence on imported oil.
The absence of fresh domestic triggers also kept investor sentiment weak, leaving equities vulnerable to continued selling pressure. Indian stock market todayExtending its losing streak for the third straight session, the Nifty shed another 0.86% to hit a three-month low of 23,431.
The Sensex also ended 1.08% lower at 74,764. Although the markets showed some momentum in early trade, they quickly gave up their gains as selling pressure accelerated and persisted through the close, giving the bulls little opportunity to stage a recovery.
The broader markets also came under selling pressure, with both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 ending with losses of more than 0.50%. All major sectoral indices finished the session in the red, with technology stocks leading the losses. The Nifty IT index fell more than 3%, with constituent Coforge tumbling 6% after Chairman Om Prakash Bhatt resigned following concerns raised by an internal audit over the company's board evaluation process.
Realty, FMCG, pharma, private bank and consumer durables stocks also ended lower. Metal stocks were the only relative outperformers. Turning to the commodity market, international benchmark Brent crude surpassed $100 per barrel for the first time in six weeks after attacks on oil facilities and ships in the Middle East threatened to further disrupt an already strained supply chain.
India is particularly vulnerable to rising crude prices as the country meets more than 80% of its crude oil requirements through imports. A sustained increase in oil prices could add to inflationary pressures and weigh on the rupee. If crude prices remain elevated for an extended period, higher input costs could also hurt companies' profit margins.
Asian markets mixed: Will Nikkei, Kospi and Hang Seng break out of key ranges? Among other key Asian markets, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.2% to 65,142.78, while South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.3%, led by the country's two chipmaking giants, SK Hynix Inc.
and Samsung Electronics Co. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng slipped 0.2% to 25,274.96, while China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.3% to 3,951.51. Taiwan's Taiex edged 0.2% higher. Vipin Kumar, AVP-Research at Globe Capital Market, said the Nikkei continued to move sideways within the 63,950–66,950 congestion range and ended on a largely flat note.
A breakout on either side of this range could determine the index's next short-term directional move. He noted a similar trend in the Kospi and Hang Seng, with both indices trading within their respective consolidation ranges as investors await decisive triggers for a fresh directional move.(more to come)