Indian stock markets experienced a tepid opening on Wednesday as the dollar and bond yields surged, influenced by underwhelming results from 2-year and 5-year bond auctions and hawkish statements from Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari.
Rising oil prices due to escalating tensions in the Middle East, coupled with investor apprehensions ahead of the upcoming general election results next week, further pressured the markets.
In early trading, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex declined by 326 points, or 0.4 percent, to 74,844, while the broader NSE Nifty index dropped by 105 points, or 0.5 percent, to 22,783.
Key losers included Tata Consumer Products, ICICI Bank, HDFC Life, SBI Life, and Mahindra & Mahindra, all of which fell between 1 and 2 percent.
On the upside, Brigade Enterprises surged 5 percent following a 234 percent year-on-year increase in Q4 net profit. NBCC (India) advanced 4 percent after reporting a 25 percent rise in Q4 net profit.
Reliance Industries remained largely unchanged after signing a one-year contract with Russia's Rosneft to purchase a minimum of 3 million barrels of oil monthly.
IRCTC plummeted 5 percent due to subdued growth in its fourth-quarter net profit. In contrast, Wockhardt gained 1.3 percent after reducing its quarterly net loss from the previous year. Hindalco Industries saw a 1 percent rise as its subsidiary Novelis filed preliminary documents with the SEC for an initial public offering. Adani Enterprises increased by 0.6 percent on reports of fundraising activities.
