The SENSEX Index Closes 0.07% Lower

India’s BSE Sensex pared its early advance to close marginally down at 72,480 on Wednesday, after a volatile session, extending its losing streak for the third day. Firm crude oil prices, elevated global bond yields and sustained foreign fund outflows continued to weigh on investor sentiment. The overall market tone remains cautious, amid continued geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East and the prospect of elevated interest rates for longer. Among individual stocks, Eternal, Sun Pharma, Titan, Adani Ports, Tata Steel and HDFC Bank were among the major laggards, with losses between 1.4%-2.3%. On the upside, Kotak Mahindra Bank (2.9%), ICICI Bank (2.3%), InterGlobe Aviation (2.1%) and Axis Bank (1.4%) recorded the largest gains. The benchmark index fell 5.8% in September, its steepest monthly decline since March, and posted a 5.2% loss in the third quarter.

The SENSEX Index dropped 49 points or 0.07 percent on Wednesday to close at 72480 points. Losses were led by Eternal Limited (-2.71%), Adani Ports (-2.41%) and Nestle India (-2.32%). Offsetting the fall, top gainers were ICICI Bank (2.38%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (2.25%) and Indusind Bank (1.86%).

India’s BSE Sensex edged up about 0.3% to 72,740 on Wednesday, recovering two sessions of losses as easing oil prices and improving Middle East export activity lifted sentiment, despite continued uncertainty over the lack of a US-Iran peace agreement. Brent crude rose 1.1% to around $103.7 a barrel after a sharp decline the previous session, while US Treasury yields fell as traders scaled back October rate-hike bets following comments from a Fed official that policymakers had time to assess incoming data. Among stocks, Power Mech Projects gained about 3.8% after reportedly securing a 5.49 billion-rupee order from Adani Group’s Moxie Power Generation. TCS (1.8%), HFCL (5.0%), and Sterlite Tech (5.0%) also gained. Foreign investors sold 99.8 billion rupees ($1.04 billion) of Indian equities on Tuesday, their biggest daily outflow in about four months, taking September selling to $2.7 billion and year-to-date net sales to $26.75 billion. The benchmark remains down about 5.6% this month.