Stock Market Today: Indian stock markets witnessed a dramatic reversal on Friday, October 23, as the Sensex and Nifty erased their early gains and plunged into negative territory, extending their losing streak to a fourth session.
Surging crude oil prices amid escalating Middle East tensions, a global sell-off and broad-based selling in mid-cap and small-cap stocks weighed on investor sentiment, turning a promising start into a bruising session for Dalal Street.
The BSE Sensex jumped 517 points, or 0.7%, to an intraday high of 73,766.51 in early trade before reversing sharply to hit a low of 72,487.47, a fall of 1,279 points from the day's peak. The NSE Nifty 50 followed a similar trajectory, rising 99 points, or 0.4%, to 22,787.25 before sliding 380 points to an intraday low of 22,407.05.
The benchmarks had already lost around 2% over the preceding three sessions, and the latest decline underscored the fragile state of market sentiment as investors grappled with rising energy costs, global uncertainty and concerns over corporate earnings.
"Domestically, near-term market direction will depend on quarterly earnings delivery, as investors react to management commentary on demand outlook for coming quarters," said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments.