FX.co ★ Sensex Hits Over 5-Month Low

India’s BSE Sensex fell about 1.3% to 72,942 on Monday, erasing the previous session’s gains and marking its lowest close since early April. The decline was driven by higher crude prices and ongoing worries over elevated global bond yields and continued foreign portfolio outflows, all of which pressured domestic equities.

Crude oil prices rose roughly 2% after US-Iran negotiations reached an impasse, a development that is particularly concerning for India, one of the world’s largest oil importers. On the macroeconomic front, investors are awaiting India’s August industrial production and manufacturing data, due later in the day. Industrial output is expected to moderate to 6% year-on-year from 6.7% in July, providing fresh signals on the underlying strength of domestic economic activity.

In stock-specific action, Aequs was in focus after its board approved the issuance of warrants worth up to 6.5 billion rupees. Clean Max Enviro also drew attention following reports that Augment India Holdings may offload a 7.25% stake via a block deal at a discount of about 10%.

Selling was broad-based across all sectors. Major decliners included HDFC Bank (-1.8%), Reliance Industries (-1.4%), NSE (-1.5%), and Hero MotoCorp (-5.5%).