Stock markets fall for 2nd day amid renewed tensions in West Asia; Sensex slumps 516 points

Equity markets stayed on the back foot for the second day on Friday (May 8, 2026) as fresh geopolitical tensions in West Asia revived concerns over energy supplies and weighed heavily on investor sentiment.

Foreign fund outflows and a weak trend in global markets further added to the bearish trend.

The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 516.33 points, or 0.66%, to settle at 77,328.19. During the session, it tumbled 698.09 points, or 0.89%, to 77,146.43.

The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 150.50 points, or 0.62%, to end at 24,176.15.

From the Sensex pack, State Bank of India tanked 6.62% after its March quarter earnings.

HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement and Mahindra & Mahindra were also among the laggards.

However, Titan jumped 4.76% after the leading jewellery and watchmaker reported a 35.36% increase in its consolidated net profit to ₹1,179 crore for the March quarter of FY26.

Asian Paints, Adani Ports, Infosys and HCL Tech settled in the positive territory.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded around $100 per barrel.

“Markets witnessed a risk-off session following fresh U.S.-Iran military action near the Strait of Hormuz, which weakened ceasefire hopes and triggered profit booking. However, stability in crude oil prices around $100 per barrel and benign U.S. 10-year yields continue to provide support to the broader sentiment and the rupee,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Though the road ahead is slightly bumpy, optimism around a possible diplomatic resolution persists, he added.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi ended marginally higher, while Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index settled lower.

Markets in Europe were trading in negative territory.

U.S. markets ended lower on Thursday (May 7).

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹340.89 crore on Thursday (May 7), according to exchange data.

In the previous session, Sensex ended 114 points lower at 77,844.52. The Nifty dipped 4.30 points to end at 24,326.65.