Benchmarks make gap-down opening amid crude oil surge, global selloff

Indian equity benchmarks made gap-down opening on Wednesday as renewed West Asia tension sparked up inflation worries while traders anticipate a rate hike in the US. Also, traders were worried with rising crude oil prices as supply disruption concerns intensified after the US and Iran exchanged strikes overnight, dimming hopes for a quick easing of tensions in the Middle East. Brent crude surged to over $95 a barrel, raising concerns over inflation and India’s import bill.

The Sensex lost over 600 points, while the Nifty breached 23,850 level in early deals amid selling pressure in Auto and Realty counters. Some cautiousness came as the RBI data showed that India’s current account deficit widened to $4.2 billion, or 0.5 per cent of GDP, in the first quarter of the current fiscal year from $3.4 billion, or 0.4 per cent of GDP a year ago.

On the global front, all the Asian markets were trading lower with Japan and South Korea leading broad-based losses as a surge in oil prices pushed global bond yields higher and revived fears that central banks may have to keep monetary policy tight. Meanwhile, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said the central bank would continue to consider rate increases and assess whether economic and price developments remained consistent with its outlook.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76320.71, down by 623.57 points or 0.81% after trading in a range of 76135.72 and 76521.67. There were 2 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The sole gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Energy up by 0.07%, while Auto down by 2.13%, Realty down by 1.81%, Consumer Discretionary down by 1.54%, Capital Goods down by 1.42% and Consumer Durables down by 1.17% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The only gainers on the Sensex were Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.27% and Sun Pharma up by 0.33%. On the flip side, Interglobe Aviation down by 2.68%, Asian Paints down by 1.60%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.57%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.46% and Tech Mahindra down by 1.39% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest data has showed that India's current account deficit (CAD) widened to $4.2 billion, or 0.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in the first quarter of the current fiscal year (Q1FY27) from $3.4 billion, or 0.4 per cent of GDP, in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Merchandise trade deficit stood at $86.1 billion in the April-June period of 2026-27 was higher than $68.9 billion in the first quarter of 2025-26. Net services receipts increased to $51.6 billion in Q1 2026-27 from $47.9 billion a year ago. Services exports have risen on a year-on-year basis in major categories such as computer services, other business services and transportation services.

The data also showed that personal transfer receipts, mainly representing remittances by Indians employed overseas, rose to $42.9 billion in Q1 2026-27 from $33.2 billion in Q1 2025-26. Further, foreign direct investment (FDI) recorded a net inflow of $6.1 billion in the first quarter, higher than $5.2 billion in the comparable period of the last financial year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23835.35, down by 220.45 points or 0.92% after trading in a range of 23786.80 and 23882.95. There were 5 stocks advancing against 45 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 3.71%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.00%, ONGC up by 0.53%, Sun Pharma up by 0.39% and Power Grid up by 0.02%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 4.11%, Bajaj Auto down by 2.96%, Interglobe Aviation down by 2.54%, Asian Paints down by 1.92% and Shriram Finance down by 1.87% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower; KOSPI dropped 255.91 points or 3.74% to 6,579.89, Nikkei 225 slipped 1920.34 points or 2.9% to 64,295.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 726.41 points or 1.55% to 46,222.31, Hang Seng declined 276.73 points or 1.1% to 25,053.00, Shanghai Composite weakened 32.63 points or 0.82% to 3,947.26, Jakarta Composite fell 10.43 points or 0.16% to 6,589.51 and Straits Times was down by 1.32 points or 0.02% to 5,709.05.