Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty witnessed heavy selling pressure on Thursday, dragged down by Auto, Realty and banking stocks. Index made a gap-down start, as Brent crude surpasses $100 per barrel mark amid escalating tensions involving Iran and Israel have disrupted tanker movement near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil routes. Additionally, persistent foreign fund outflows dampened investors' sentiments. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 6,267.31 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
In the afternoon session, the market recovered slightly from the day’s low after reports suggested that Indian oil will get safe passage through Hormuz. As per a private report, Iran allowed Indian oil tankers to pass through the strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz after talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi. However, the index failed to sustain the recovery and eventually settled deep in the red, as uncertainty mounted over a new trade probe by the Trump administration signaling potential U.S. tariffs.
Most sectoral indices ended in the red, except Oil & Gas, Metal and media stocks. The top gainers from the F&O segment were JSW Energy, Coal India and SRF. On the other hand, the top losers were Piramal Pharma, IndusInd Bank and TVS Motor Company. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 25900 - 26100 calls and 22900 - 23100 puts indicating this is the trading range expectation.
