MUMBAI – The stock market gave up its early gains and ended sharply lower on Tuesday, with the Nifty closing below 23,200 for the first time in five months.
The Nifty 50 lost 278.70 points, or 1.19%, to 23,118.60. The Sensex declined 778.77 points, or 1.04%, to 74,003.82.
The fall was particularly sharp towards the end of trading. The Nifty had opened above 23,500 and was still showing a gain of nearly 100 points in the morning, but the strength faded through the session.
Selling widened across the market as crude oil moved higher. Brent crude climbed around 2% to $107.80 a barrel, adding another problem for an economy that imports most of its crude requirements.
The US bond market also turned into a pressure point. The 10-year Treasury yield moved above 5%, its highest level in nearly two decades. Higher US yields can pull money towards dollar assets and make emerging-market equities less attractive.
Indian financial stocks bore much of the damage. The Nifty Financial Services index fell 1.8%, while the Nifty Auto index dropped 2%. The broader market suffered even more, with midcaps down 2.1% and smallcaps lower by 2.4%.
Only one of the 16 major sectoral indices managed to avoid a decline. Information technology was the clear exception. The Nifty IT index rose 2.2%, with Infosys gaining 3.8% and TCS advancing 2.3%. HDFC Bank also rose 1.2% after the bank sent two names to the RBI for consideration for its next chief executive.
Asian markets were also under pressure, while US stocks had ended lower in the previous session. The S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow all recorded losses.
Tuesday’s decline leaves the Nifty about 4.8% lower over the past five weeks. With Brent near $108, the US 10-year yield above 5% and the Nifty at 23,118.60, the market closed at another five-month low.
