Sensex Opens 300 Points Lower, Nifty Below 24,500; Adani Stocks in Focus

Indian benchmark indices opened lower on Tuesday as elevated crude oil prices pressured investor sentiment, while gains in IT stocks and continued foreign institutional buying offered some support. The Sensex and Nifty both started the session in the red, with investors also tracking corporate earnings and global market cues.

The BSE Sensex opened at 78,509.77 but was down 315.36 points, or 0.40%, at 78,227.08 around 9:26 am. The Nifty 50 opened at 24,575.10 and was trading 94.05 points, or 0.38%, lower at 24,489.75. Rising oil prices remained a key concern for India, a major crude importer, as higher energy costs can widen the import bill and add inflationary pressure.

Brent crude was around $87.71 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude stood at $82.13 in early trade. Geojit Investments Chief Investment Strategist Dr VK Vijayakumar said elevated Brent prices remained an irritant, but added that improving foreign institutional flows, better-than-expected first-quarter results and a stable rupee could help keep the market resilient.

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IT stocks bucked the broader market trend and limited the decline. The Nifty IT index gained 0.74%, with HCLTech rising 1.13% to lead major gainers. Titan and Tech Mahindra advanced 0.72% each, while Infosys gained 0.57% and TCS rose 0.52%. Investors continue to watch the sector for signs of improvement in global technology spending.

Banking and financial stocks, meanwhile, weighed on the benchmarks. The Nifty Private Bank index declined 0.72%, while Nifty Financial Services 25/50 and Nifty PSU Bank fell 0.58% and 0.42%, respectively. Axis Bank slipped 1.12%, Bajaj Finance declined 1.20% and HDFC Bank fell 0.42%. IndiGo was among the biggest major-stock losers, falling 1.75%, while UltraTech Cement, Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports and Reliance Industries also traded lower.

The broader market remained mixed, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 0.42%, while the Nifty Midcap 50 and Nifty Midcap 100 declined 0.22% each. Vijayakumar said renewed FII buying could provide support, with foreign investors showing interest in sectors including telecom, renewable energy, capital goods and pharmaceuticals. The market's near-term direction is likely to depend on the balance between elevated crude prices and supportive factors such as corporate earnings, domestic consumption and foreign inflows.

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