Mumbai, June 23
The Indian stock markets started the week on a weak note as tensions escalated in the Middle East, after the United States bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran, showing clear support for Israel in the ongoing conflict.
The development made investors cautious, leading to a fall in benchmark indices on Monday. The Sensex dropped 511.38 points, or 0.62 per cent, to close at 81,896.79. During the intra-day, it moved between a high of 82,169.67 and a low of 81,476.76.
Similarly, the Nifty also ended in the red. It fell 140.50 points, or 0.56 per cent, to settle at 24,971.90. The index had touched an intra-high of 25,057 and a low of 24,824.85 during the session.
Interestingly, broader markets performed better than the frontline indices. The Nifty Midcap100 closed with a gain of 0.36 per cent, while the Smallcap100 rose 0.70 per cent.
Out of the 30 stocks in the Sensex, HCL Tech, Infosys, Larsen and Toubro, Mahindra and Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, and ITC were the biggest losers, falling between 2.28 per cent and 1.21 per cent.
On the other hand, Trent, Bharat Electronics, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Bajaj Finserv were the top gainers, rising between 3.39 per cent and 0.58 per cent.