Sensex, Nifty trade sharply lower; IT shares plunge

The key equity barometers continued to trade under pressure in mid-afternoon trade amid renewed US-Iran tensions that pushed crude oil prices higher and kept investors in a risk-off mood. Brent crude rose above the $90-per-barrel mark, raising concerns over inflation and its potential impact on interest-rate expectations.

Market participants remained cautious ahead of the MSCI index rebalancing, which is expected to trigger sizeable passive fund flows under the new Closing Auction Session (CAS) mechanism. The Nifty traded below the 24,100 level.

Investors will closely track movements in crude oil and gold prices, domestic and US bond yields, the rupee, and developments surrounding the US-Iran conflict. The trajectory of monsoon rainfall and its implications for rural demand and inflation will also remain on the radar.

IT shares witnessed profit-taking after advancing in the previous session.

At 14:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 430.53 points or 0.56% to 76,838.49. The Nifty 50 index fell 152.90 points or 0.63% to 24,022.75.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index fell 0.58% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index dropped 0.51%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,701 shares rose and 2,642 shares fell. A total of 265 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index declined 1.51% to 30,810.70. The index jumped 3.51% in the past trading session.

Persistent Systems (down 4.2%), LTM (down 2.65%), Infosys (down 1.93%), Mphasis (down 1.71%), Coforge (down 1.54%), Wipro (down 1.37%), Tech Mahindra (down 1.26%), Tata Consultancy Services (down 0.78%) and Oracle Financial Services Software (down 0.39%) declined.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.52% to 6.949 compared with the previous session close of 6.913.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 95.2275 compared with its close of 95.4375 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for the 5 October 2026 settlement fell 1.10% to Rs 1,54,555.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.16% to 99.54.

The United States 10-year bond yield declined 0.28% to 4.709.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for the November 2026 settlement jumped $2.99 or 3.39% to $91.09 a barrel.

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