New Delhi, Aug 11: India’s stock markets ended lower today as investors booked profits amid a sharp rise in crude oil prices and continued uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the prospects of a US-Iran deal.
The Sensex dropped 388 points, or 0.49 per cent, to close at 78,154.25, while the Nifty 50 fell 112 points, or 0.46 per cent, to settle at 24,471.70.
The broader market remained relatively resilient. The Nifty Midcap 100 index slipped 0.02 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index gained 0.22 per cent.
Crude oil prices rose more than 2 per cent to around $90 a barrel, reigniting concerns over inflation and the potential impact on interest rates.
The rise in oil prices, coupled with geopolitical uncertainty, weighed on investor sentiment.
Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank were the biggest drags on the Sensex.
Among Nifty 50 constituents, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Eternal, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Titan Company and Infosys were the top gainers.
Tata Consumer Products, Max Healthcare Institute, Nestle India, UltraTech Cement and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise were among the biggest laggards.
Sectorally, the Nifty FMCG index declined 1.17 per cent, while the Realty and Metal indices fell nearly 1 per cent each. The Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services indices declined 0.42 per cent and 0.43 per cent, respectively.
In contrast, the Nifty Pharma index gained 1 per cent, while the Nifty IT index rose 0.61 per cent.
Among individual stocks, Gland Pharma surged 10 per cent after its first-quarter profit rose 47 per cent, while Kolte-Patil Developers gained 12 per cent after turning profitable in the June quarter.
Matrimony.com advanced 10 per cent after its first-quarter profit doubled, while Finolex Cables jumped 14 per cent after reporting a 53 per cent increase in profit.
Lumax Auto Technologies rose 18 per cent after its first-quarter profit more than doubled.
On the other hand, Dilip Buildcon declined 5 per cent following weak first-quarter earnings. CMS Info Systems fell 4 per cent after its profit declined 11 per cent, while KEC International dropped 5 per cent after reporting a 41.7 per cent decline in first-quarter profit.
L&T Technology Services gained 2 per cent after launching its AgenticIQ platform. Zen Technologies rose 5 per cent after securing a Rs 295 crore order from the Ministry of Defence.
Ather Energy gained 4 per cent after the government extended benefits under the electric two-wheeler subsidy scheme. (BVI)
