After gaining 480 points on Monday, Sensex sheds 1,068 points on Tuesday
The markets saw a good momentum after the US Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration's sweeping tariffs
The equity benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fell more than 1 percent on Tuesday, with the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 1,068.74 points.
The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 288.35 points, or 1.12 percent, to close at 25,424.65.
The trigger behind the domestic markets witnessed a steep drop was driven mostly by substantial losses in IT stocks as concerns about AI-driven disruption and pressure on traditional service providers' margins resurfaced globally.
Concerns about international trade and tariffs also reappeared, with Trump's warnings about trade agreements and speculations of potential national security tariffs on a half-dozen industries adding to the pressure.
Also, for the first time in almost seven months, crude oil prices on global markets reached $72 a barrel as traders evaluated supply risks in the face of escalating US- Iran tensions. Since 90 percent of India's petroleum needs are imported, rising crude prices have a significant negative impact on the country's macroeconomic fundamentals and might increase its import bill.
Among the losers, Tech Mahindra emerged as the biggest laggard, declining by 6.6 percent, followed by HCL Technologies, Eternal, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Larsen & Toubro, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Bharat Electronics Ltd and ICICI Bank.
While NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Steel, PowerGrid, Titan, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, and Sun Pharmaceuticals were among the gainers.
Interestingly, the markets have been experiencing a roller coaster ride, leaving investors in state of uncertainty. On Monday, February 23, the equity indices ended on strong note with Nifty above 25,700. At close, the Sensex was up 479.95 points or 0.58 percent at 83,294.66, and the Nifty was up 141.75 points or 0.55 percent at 25,713.
The markets saw a good momentum after the US Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration's sweeping tariffs, which boosted the investors' sentiments positively.
Among sectors, the PSU Bank indexes outperformed, rallying 1.35 percent, whereas the IT stocks lost the most, shedding over 1.5 percent on Monday.
