Indian Stock Market Trades Cautiously Amid US-Iran Tensions and Rising Crude Prices
The Indian stock market traded with limited losses on Monday amid renewed US-Iran tensions that pushed crude oil prices higher. The Brent crude price rose above $90 per barrel, raising concerns over inflation and its potential impact on interest-rate expectations.
Market participants remained cautious ahead of the MSCI index rebalancing, which is expected to trigger sizeable passive fund flows under the new Closing Auction Session (CAS) mechanism. The Nifty traded below the 24,100 level.
The broader market underperformed the frontline indices, with the BSE 150 MidCap Index plunging 0.50% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index tumbling 0.39%. The market breadth was negative, with more shares falling than rising.
Top gainers included ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, Grasim, and Maruti Suzuki, while top losers included Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Infosys, and Hindalco. Stocks in the spotlight included Karbonsteel Engineering, Avantel, and Indraprastha Gas.