Stock market today: Sensex plunges over 600 pts; Nifty slips below 24,050 in early trade

The BSE Sensex dropped 611.02 points (0.79%) to 76,859.09 in early trade on Tuesday, as broad-based selling continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

Crude continues rally: Brent tops $92, WTI above $85 as Strait of Hormuz tensions threaten global supplies

Crude oil prices extended their rally on Wednesday, with Brent crude holding above the $90-a-barrel mark as escalating tensions in the Middle East kept investors focused on the risk of further disruptions to global energy supplies.

Brent crude was trading at $92.40 a barrel, up 1.53% or $1.39, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 1.38% or $1.16 to $85.50 a barrel. The gains came after both benchmarks ended Tuesday at their highest closing levels in around five weeks. Brent settled at $91.01 a barrel and WTI at $84.91, each rising about 2% during the session as geopolitical developments added to supply concerns.

Asian equities opened higher on Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street as investors returned to technology and semiconductor stocks despite elevated oil prices and ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.2% in early trade. South Korea's Kospi surged more than 6%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.9%. Meanwhile, S&P 500 e-mini futures edged 0.1% lower.

Investor sentiment improved after the strong rebound in US AI stocks, although markets continued to monitor rising crude oil prices and the threat of further disruption to energy supplies following Houthi warnings to widen the regional conflict.

Shares of HDFC Bank extended losses for a second straight session on Tuesday, taking the stock's two-day decline to more than 7% after its June-quarter earnings failed to impress investors.

The stock settled 2.08% lower at Rs 761.45 on both the BSE and NSE after falling over 5% on Monday.

The sharp correction has wiped out Rs 89,635.73 crore from the lender's market capitalisation in just two trading sessions, making it one of the biggest drags on the benchmark indices.

Indian benchmark indices closed lower for the second consecutive session on Tuesday as weakness in HDFC Bank and rising geopolitical tensions in West Asia kept investors on edge.

The BSE Sensex fell 238.41 points (0.31%) to close at 77,470.11, while the NSE Nifty50 declined 50.80 points (0.21%) to settle at 24,187.70. During the session, the Sensex had dropped as much as 371.19 points.

Market sentiment remained subdued amid the escalating US-Iran conflict, higher crude oil prices and continued foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows.Among Sensex constituents, HDFC Bank declined 2%, extending Monday's losses after its quarterly earnings disappointed investors on net interest margins. Reliance Industries, SBI, TCS, Infosys and Trent also ended lower.

On the positive side, Bajaj Finserv emerged as the top gainer, followed by InterGlobe Aviation, UltraTech Cement, HCLTech, Mahindra & Mahindra and Titan.

Wall Street ended higher on Tuesday, led by a strong rebound in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor stocks, even as Brent crude oil climbed above $91 a barrel amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.