•Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty opened sharply lower, with Sensex plunging 1,649.78 points (2.06%) to 78,589.07 and Nifty tumbling 465.45 points (1.87%) to 24,400.25.
•The market downturn was driven by weak global cues, heavy selling in banking and infrastructure stocks, and broad-based risk aversion.
•Major laggards included HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Larsen & Toubro, and Reliance Industries, while a few stocks like Bharat Electronics, Infosys, ONGC, and TCS showed limited resilience.
•Investor sentiment was jolted by the deepening Iran crisis, including unconfirmed reports of Mojtaba Khamenei's selection as Supreme Leader and Iran's alleged fresh strikes on Israeli/US-linked targets.
•Geopolitical tensions led to a surge in oil prices by nearly 4.7% and European gas prices by over 20%, with the US authorizing non-emergency staff to leave Saudi Arabia and Oman.
