Sensex Drops as Crude Oil Prices Reach New Heights

Indian stock markets opened lower on Monday, August 17, due to rising crude oil prices and persistent geopolitical tensions in West Asia. The benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined by 284.85 points and 69.25 points respectively. Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, and State Bank of India were among the top laggards. In contrast, Bharat Electronics and Titan managed to rise.

Crude oil prices remain a concern, with Brent crude trading at USD 88.86 per barrel. This is due to renewed US warnings against Iran, which has pushed prices higher. According to Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, Founder & CEO of HST Wealth, 'crude oil remains the principal concern'.

Indian equity markets are expected to remain range-bound with a cautious bias as geopolitical tensions continue to restrain risk appetite. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 508.12 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.