Indian Markets Dip Amid Oil Price Surge and US-Iran Tensions
The Indian stock market experienced a marginal decline on Tuesday due to escalating crude oil prices and renewed US-Iran tensions. The Sensex and Nifty indices, which had been performing well domestically with a 7.8% GDP growth in the April-June quarter, took a hit from global uncertainties.
Brent crude prices jumped 2.03% to $92.33 per barrel, while investors were also concerned about the US Federal Reserve's hawkish outlook on monetary policy. This uncertainty weighed heavily on risk appetite across emerging markets.
According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Ltd, 'Markets are increasingly balancing India's strong growth momentum against mounting global uncertainties.' He added that better-than-expected GDP growth underscores the resilience of domestic demand and the broader economy, but escalated geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and a more hawkish Federal Reserve have renewed concerns about inflation.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 7,985.88 crore on Monday, indicating cautious sentiment towards Indian assets. Among the Sensex firms, Maruti, State Bank of India, and Axis Bank were major laggards, while ITC and HCL Tech saw gains.