Indian Equities Face Sharp Correction Amid Fading AI Momentum and Crude Volatility

The Nifty 50 index was down by 263.80 points to 23,219.75 while the Sensex was down by 927.97 points to 73,721.87.

On Wednesday, Indian benchmark indices defied strong global gains which saw Wall Street and the Nikkei hit record highs as the Sensex and Nifty 50 crashed over 1% amid an 8% spike in market volatility. This sharp domestic downturn was driven by a combination of escalating Middle East tensions near the Strait of Hormuz, rising Brent crude prices nearing USD 97 per barrel, and heavy, persistent selling by Foreign Institutional Investors ahead of a crucial RBI monetary policy meeting. Compounding the losses, a severe global wave of profit-booking in the artificial intelligence sector triggered a massive sell-off in software stocks, causing the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF to plunge 3% and dragging down major Indian IT heavyweights like TCS, Infosys, and Tech Mahindra by 3% to 7%.