Stock Market: Indian stock markets saw a sell-off again in trading on Monday, September 7. Investors remained cautious due to weak signals from global markets, fears of a US interest rate hike, high crude oil prices and rising tensions between the US and Iran. The Sensex ended the day down nearly 380 points, while the Nifty 50 closed below the crucial 23,800 level. At one point during the day, the Sensex saw a fall of over 500 points.

IT stocks dragged the market down the most

Monday’s trading saw the biggest sell-off in the IT sector. Major technology stocks including Infosys, Tech Mahindra remained under pressure. The Nifty IT index was down more than 2 percent. Infosys was among the big losers of the day. As Indian IT companies have a heavy dependence on the American market, fears of higher interest rates in the US have increased pressure on the sector.

Crude oil close to $97

Another major concern for India is high crude oil prices. Brent Crude It has approached around 97 dollars per barrel. India imports most of its crude oil requirements. So if crude becomes expensive, the import bill will go up, the rupee will come under pressure and fears of inflation will rise.

Investors wary of US-Iran tension

Rising geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran have also dampened market sentiment. If the situation in the Middle East becomes more serious, it is feared that the global oil supply will be affected. This may lead to further rise in crude oil prices, which is a negative factor for an oil importing country like India.

Selling of foreign investors is also a concern

Continued selling in Indian stocks by Foreign Institutional Investment i.e. FIIs also added pressure to the market. In the previous session, foreign investors had sold stocks worth around Rs 3,111 crore net. Foreign investors are withdrawing capital from emerging markets as interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty rise globally.