Sensex, Nifty slide at open as West Asia crisis drives oil above $95; Dr Reddy's drags pharma

Benchmark indices opened lower on Thursday morning, weighed down by surging crude oil prices after Yemen's Houthi rebels attacked Saudi oil tankers, escalating the West Asia conflict and rattling investor sentiment across emerging markets.

The BSE Sensex, which closed Wednesday at 76,755.05, opened at 76,515.10 and was trading at 76,397.13, down 357.92 points or 0.47 per cent, as of 9.18 AM. The NSE Nifty 50, which ended the previous session at 23,996.25, opened at 23,904.80 and slipped further to 23,896.55, losing 99.70 points or 0.42 per cent, at the same time.

Brent crude has climbed above $95 a barrel while WTI crude pushed toward $88, after Houthi rebels opened a new front by targeting Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. "The Houthi's aggressive entry into the Iran-US conflict by attacking Saudi Arabian tankers in the Red Sea is aggravating the West Asia crisis and pushing Brent crude higher," said Dr V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd. "When Brent crude trades above $95, India's vulnerability to high oil prices is once again becoming a macro concern."

The Indian rupee remained under pressure, slipping toward the ₹96.5 mark against the US dollar, as elevated crude prices and geopolitical stress continued to fuel demand for the greenback.

On the Nifty 50, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories was the steepest loser, falling 4.43 per cent to ₹1,130.40 from its previous close of ₹1,182.80. Cipla dropped 1.63 per cent to ₹1,392.10 against a previous close of ₹1,415.10, dragging the pharmaceutical sector lower. Tata Steel fell 1.03 per cent to ₹184.60, IndiGo declined 0.95 per cent to ₹5,068.50, and Infosys shed 0.93 per cent to ₹1,042.30 from its previous close of ₹1,052.10. Infosys’ quarterly earnings are due after market close Thursday and investors are watching the results closely for demand signals from the IT sector.

Among gainers, Tata Consumer Products led with a 1 per cent rise to ₹1,105.90 against a previous close of ₹1,094.90. Bajaj Auto gained 0.72 per cent to ₹11,078.00, ONGC edged up 0.52 per cent to ₹253.22, Eternal rose 0.35 per cent to ₹285.40, and Hindalco advanced 0.24 per cent to ₹952.30, reflecting selective buying in consumption and automobile stocks even as broader sentiment remained weak.

Sectorally, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Auto outperformed in the previous session, while Nifty Media, Nifty Realty, and Nifty PSU Bank were the worst performers, each shedding over 2.5 per cent.

Institutional flows offered no comfort. Foreign Institutional Investors were net sellers of ₹819 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors also turned net sellers, offloading ₹418 crore worth of equities.

Technically, Nifty broke below the key 20-day SMA at 24,100. "As long as the market is trading below 24,100, weak sentiment is likely to continue," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities. "The correction wave is likely to persist till the 50-day SMA or 23,800."

India VIX rose 5.50 per cent to 13.29, signalling heightened near-term volatility. Traders will also watch the European Central Bank's policy decision and US weekly jobless claims data for global cues later in the day.

"This will give opportunities to long-term investors to slowly accumulate high-quality stocks in growth segments, now available at attractive valuations," Vijayakumar added. "Banking stocks appear attractively valued, particularly in the context of high credit growth and very low NPAs.”