Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty drifted lower in early trade on Wednesday as rising geopolitical tensions and renewed concerns over potential US tariff hikes dampened investor sentiment, with sustained foreign fund outflows adding to the pressure on domestic markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 169.64 points to 84,909.30, while the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 42.35 points to 26,128.90 in early deals.

Among the Sensex constituents, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance and Maruti Suzuki were among the biggest laggards. On the other hand, Titan, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and Reliance Industries were trading in the green.

Market sentiment remained cautious amid continued selling by overseas investors. According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 107.63 crore on Tuesday. In contrast, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) provided some support by purchasing shares worth Rs 1,749.35 crore.

Commenting on the market mood, Ponmudi R., CEO of Enrich Money, said, “Rising geopolitical tensions and fresh tariff-related concerns have triggered profit-booking at higher levels, keeping risk appetite in check. As a result, the market is expected to remain largely range-bound, with stock-specific and sector-led moves dominating trade rather than a broad-based directional trend.”

Stock markets fall for 2nd day on weak global trends, fresh foreign fund outflows Global cues mixed

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi and Shanghai’s SSE Composite were trading higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were quoting lower.

US markets ended on a positive note on Tuesday, providing limited support to Asian equities.

In the commodities space, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.87 per cent to USD 60.17 per barrel, easing slightly from recent highs.

Previous session

On Tuesday, the markets had closed lower, with the Sensex falling 376.28 points or 0.44 per cent to settle at 85,063.34, while the Nifty declined 71.60 points or 0.27 per cent to end at 26,178.70.

Analysts said that in the near term, markets are likely to remain sensitive to global developments, particularly geopolitical signals and trade policy cues from the United States, even as domestic flows continue to offer some cushion against sharp declines.

Sensex, Nifty slip in early trade as Trump’s H-1B visa fee hike weighs on IT stocks