Mumbai, April 9 – The Indian equity markets opened cautiously on Thursday after a sharp rally in the previous session. Benchmark indices declined amid investor concerns over escalating geopolitical tensions, as reports suggested that Israel had attacked Hezbollah in Lebanon, raising fears of a potential disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Sensex fell by 560 points or 0.72 per cent, closing at 77,003, hitting an intra-day low in early trading. The Nifty also fell by as much as 182 points or 0.75 per cent, closing at 23,815, also hitting an intra-day low. Among the top decliners were IT, realty, banking, and auto stocks, which fell by up to 1 per cent.
Among the Nifty pack, Infosys, Shriram Finance, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, IndiGo, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, and M&M were the top losers.
According to analysts, traders should adopt a cautious approach, prefer a "buy on dips" strategy near support levels, and avoid aggressive long positions at higher levels.
"This ongoing divergence between foreign and domestic flows continues to play a key role in market stability," they added.
Analysts also noted that the India VIX cooled sharply to around 19.69, indicating a decline in volatility, although markets may still witness intra-day swings.
Institutional flows continue to reflect divergence. On Wednesday, FIIs remained net sellers to the tune of approximately Rs 2,812 crore, while DIIs continued their strong buying with inflows of around Rs 4,168 crore.
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures surged to as much as 3.31 per cent to $97.89 per barrel at 9:06 a.m. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude traded at $98.38, up 4.2 per cent from the previous close.
Asian stocks also traded lower, with the Nikkei, Hang Seng, and KOSPI down 0.77 per cent, 0.17 per cent, and over 1 per cent, respectively.
In the US, Wall Street ended higher, with major indices finishing more than 2 per cent up.
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