Sensex, Nifty End Flat Amid West Asia Tensions, Oil & Gas Stocks Drag Markets

Benchmark Indian equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended largely flat on Wednesday as renewed geopolitical tensions in West Asia , weak global cues and sustained foreign fund outflows triggered volatility and late-session selling pressure.

The 30-share BSE Sensex closed higher by 64.42 points, or 0.09 per cent, at 73,983.18 , after witnessing a highly volatile session. The index opened on a strong note, surged by 694.25 points (0.93 per cent) and touched an intraday high of 74,613.01 in early trade. However, gains were gradually eroded in the second half due to profit booking in key sectors .

The 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 27.15 points, or 0.12 per cent, to close at 23,214.95 , after hitting a high of 23,425.35 and a low of 23,184.60 during the session.

Market sentiment turned cautious following fresh hostilities between the United States and Iran , which unsettled global investors and briefly pushed crude oil prices higher , though they later eased. Analysts said the uncertainty over the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East continued to cap risk appetite.

Among Sensex stocks, Hindustan Unilever, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, ITC and HDFC Bank were among the major gainers, providing some support to the indices. However, Eternal Ltd, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv and Titan were among the key laggards.

Broader markets also ended weaker, with the BSE SmallCap Select index falling 1.37 per cent and the MidCap Select index declining 1.35 per cent , reflecting risk-off sentiment among investors.

Sectorally, selling pressure was seen across multiple segments. The MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt index dropped 2.20 per cent , followed by telecommunication (1.98 per cent), metal (1.87 per cent), oil & gas (1.77 per cent), realty (1.76 per cent), energy (1.71 per cent), power (1.64 per cent) and utilities (1.55 per cent). In contrast, FMCG and select banking indices outperformed, limiting overall downside.

In global markets, Asian equities closed lower , with South Korea’s Kospi falling 4.52 per cent , Japan’s Nikkei 225 declining 1.89 per cent , and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also ending in negative territory. European markets traded lower, while US equities ended mostly weak in the previous session.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued to remain net sellers, offloading equities worth ₹4,566.03 crore on Tuesday , adding further pressure on domestic sentiment.

Despite early gains, analysts noted that persistent geopolitical uncertainty, weak global cues and foreign outflows kept markets range-bound and prevented a sustained recovery.