Sensex fell 141 points and Nifty declined 72 points at the open.
Weak Asian cues and semiconductor losses weighed on investor sentiment.
Brent crude held near $90, while gold climbed above $4,700.
Indian equity benchmarks opened lower on Tuesday, tracking weak Asian markets as an overnight selloff in semiconductor stocks on Wall Street weighed on investor sentiment. At the open, the Sensex fell 141 points, while the Nifty declined 72 points.
The rupee opened largely flat against the US dollar at 95.72, compared with Monday's close of 95.74. Meanwhile, gold futures were trading at a three-month high of $4,714.19 an ounce, reflecting continued demand for safe-haven assets.
1 August 2026
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Weak Global Cues Weigh On Sentiment
Asian markets opened lower, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling around 1% and South Korea's Kospi declining more than 2.5%, as the semiconductor selloff on Wall Street spilled into the region.
The Dow Jones ended Monday 140 points, or 0.26%, higher, while the S&P 500 declined 0.28% and the Nasdaq fell 0.76%. Semiconductor stocks came under pressure, with Micron falling nearly 6%, while Nvidia slipped below $210 ahead of its Wednesday earnings report.
Among Nifty 50 stocks, Eternal led the gainers, opening at ₹330 and trading at ₹329.60, up 0.75%. Trent gained 0.55% to ₹2,921, Adani Ports rose 0.53% to ₹1,681, TCS added 0.50% to ₹2,295.60 and SBI Life Insurance edged up 0.48% to ₹1,770.20.
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On the losing side, Cipla was the top laggard, declining 1.18% to ₹1,421. Hindalco fell 0.79% to ₹1,050.15, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles declined 0.65% to ₹312.35, Maruti Suzuki slipped 0.63% to ₹13,534 and Tata Consumer Products fell 0.61% to ₹1,056.
Crude, Safe-Haven Assets In Focus
Brent crude held near $90 a barrel after falling 4% on Monday following the rollout of sanctions, while WTI remained around $85.
Iran's rial has fallen to a record low, while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely constrained.
Gold was trading above $4,700 an ounce and silver around $69.60, both at three-month highs, reflecting continued safe-haven demand.
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"The range-bound nature of the market will continue in the near-term with buying emerging at lower levels and selling emerging at higher levels. The near-term range for the Nifty now is 24,100-24,500," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments.
He said most of the market action is taking place beyond the Nifty, particularly in the mid-cap and small-cap segments.
"There are continuous news and reports of corporate action in the broader market, and positive news is followed by strong buying in stocks in the broader market. Even FIIs are buying into these segments without bothering too much about valuations. Everyone is riding the momentum," Vijayakumar said.
He added that US sanctions on Iran and the threat of secondary sanctions on countries trading with Iran have introduced another layer of uncertainty.
"Crude is likely to remain at the present high levels, constraining a rally in the market," he said.
