Mumbai, Oct 23 A four-day decline in benchmark indices has eroded nearly Rs 21 lakh crore of investors’ wealth as Indian equities came under heavy selling pressure amid surging oil prices triggered by the West Asia crisis.
Sliding for the fourth consecutive session, the 30-share BSE Sensex shed 125.56 points, or 0.17 per cent, to settle at 73,123.83 on Friday.
In a holiday-truncated week, the benchmark plunged 1,605.44 points, or 2.15 per cent.
Tracking the weak trend in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms fell by Rs 20,78,774.28 crore over four sessions to Rs 4,51,83,393.14 from Rs 4,72,62,167.42 crore recorded on October 16.
“Indian markets are likely to remain weak amid heightened geopolitical tensions and rising crude oil prices, which are fuelling inflation concerns. Crude oil prices rose above US 115 per barrel and hit a five-month high amid fears of West Asia supply disruptions and concerns over Saudi oil facilities,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research – Wealth Management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
Escalating US-Iran tensions, stalled diplomatic talks and reports of potential renewed US-Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear and military assets have heightened geopolitical risks, he added.
Tata Steel and Adani Ports fell over 3 per cent, emerging as the biggest laggards among the Sensex firms.
Trent, Tech Mahindra, Bharat Electronics Ltd, IndiGo, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, State Bank of India and Hindustan Unilever also closed lower.
In contrast, Eternal, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki India, Infosys and ICICI Bank were among the gainers.
Khemka said Jio Platforms’ record Rs 30,213-crore IPO was subscribed 22.19 times, with healthy participation across investor categories.
Jio Platforms shares are scheduled to list on October 28, a key sentiment trigger for the primary market next week.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, breached the USD 116 per barrel level, jumping by nearly 3 per cent to USD 116.73 per barrel.
“Markets extended their losing streak as an overnight fall in US benchmarks cautioned local investors, with renewed uptick in global crude oil prices and decline in rupee fuelled broad-based selling pressure,” said Ankur Punj, Managing Director, Equirus Wealth.
“Most Asian gauges recovered; however, domestic markets fell sharply over concerns of higher inflation ahead due to volatile crude oil prices and rising US bond yields,” he added.
On the market outlook, Khemka said investors will remain cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting on October 27-28, while tracking key economic data, including US initial jobless claims and GDP growth, along with the Bank of Japan’s interest rate decision.
“The Q2 earnings season will remain in focus, with Paytm, Tata Consumer, L&T, Maruti Suzuki, HUL, Adani Ports, Trent, Sun Pharma and BEL among the key companies scheduled to report results next week.
“Overall, crude prices, geopolitical developments, foreign flows and earnings will remain the key drivers of market direction,” he said.
(PTI News)
