Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tanked in early trade on Thursday (October 3, 2024), dragged by a decline in heavyweight stocks Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank and spiralling conflict in the Middle East.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex tumbled 1,264.2 points to 83,002.09 in early trade. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty slumped 345.3 points to 25,451.60.

From the 30 Sensex firms, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Maruti, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were the major laggards. JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma and NTPC were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Hong Kong traded lower while Tokyo quoted in the positive territory. Markets in mainland China will be closed for the rest of the week due to a holiday.

The United States markets ended marginally higher on Wednesday (October 2, 2024).

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹5,579.35 crore on Tuesday (October 1, 2024), according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.15% to $74.75 a barrel.

"In Tuesday's trade, FIIs were net sellers of ₹5,579 crore, while crude oil prices surged above $70 per barrel amid escalating tensions in the Middle East," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Limited.

Equity markets were closed on Wednesday (October 2, 2024) for Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti.

The BSE benchmark dipped 33.49 points, or 0.04%, to settle at 84,266.29 on Tuesday (October 2, 2024). The Nifty ended marginally lower by 13.95 points, or 0.05%, to 25,796.90.