Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty slumped nearly 1 per cent in early trade on Tuesday, February 24, dragged down by a sharp selloff in IT stocks amid rising fears of AI-led disruption.
Besides, rising crude oil prices and renewed concerns over global trade after US President Donald Trump‘s latest tariff remarks also weighed on investors’ sentiment, traders said.
The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 813.13 points, or 0.97 per cent, to 82,481.53 in early deals.
The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 230.15 points, or 0.89 per cent to 25,482.85.
Eternal dropped the most from the Sensex pack, declining 3.82 per cent, followed by HCL Technologies, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Trent, Adani Ports, ITC, and Titan.
On the other hand, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, PowerGrid, Asian Paints, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Tata Steel were among the gainers.
“The trend of weakness in tech stocks stemming from the potential AI impact continues. The weakness in the ADRs of Indian IT companies indicates that this segment will continue to remain under pressure,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
He further stated that US President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address later in the day and the message that he would convey will be keenly watched by markets globally.
“The EU freezing the deal with US in the light of the tariff changes following the Supreme Court verdict and Trump’s warnings to countries backing away from deals indicate that the tariff drama has more in store for economies and markets. We will have to wait and watch how this drama plays out,” Vijayakumar said.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Shanghai’s SSE Composite Index and Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmark were trading higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng quoting in the red.
The US equities market ended nearly 2 per cent lower in overnight deals on Monday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 3,483.70 crore on Monday, while domestic institutional investors were net sellers of stocks worth Rs 1,292.24 crore, according to exchange data.
Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 1 per cent to USD 72.13 per barrel.
On Monday, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 479.95 points to settle at 83,294.66, while the NSE Nifty advanced 141.75 points to close at 25,713.
