Overview
- Benchmark indices closed lower on Thursday with the Sensex at 76,391.39 and the Nifty at 23,869.60, marking a four-day losing streak and sharp intraday swings.
- Global tensions between the US and Iran and fresh Houthi attacks pushed Brent crude to more than $98 per barrel, which traders said lifted worries about supply disruptions and higher fuel costs.
- HDFC Bank’s weaker-than-expected quarterly margins prompted selling in bank stocks and helped spark the domestic leg of the sell-off during ongoing earnings flows.
- Foreign institutional investors returned to net selling, recorded at about Rs 819.20 crore, and the market wiped out roughly Rs 4.24 lakh crore of investor wealth while India VIX moved higher.
- The crude-driven rise in import bills threatens higher inflation and rupee weakness that could squeeze energy‑intensive firms and keep trading stock-specific until global tensions or earnings restore confidence.