Sensex crashes 992 pts, Nifty below 25,000; Why markets are falling today?

Business Standard

2 days ago

Why markets are falling today: Indian stock markets took a sudden plunge on Thursday, June 12, 2025, with all sectors trading lower. The BSE Sensex index tumbled 992 points in the intraday trade to hit a low of 81,523. The BSE benchmark dropped 1,138 points from the day's high.
The NSE Nifty50, on the other hand, breached the 25,000-mark in the intraday trade to hit a low of 24,826. It fell 315 points from the previous day's close and 371 points from the day's high level. At the Closing Bell, the Sensex ended at 81,692, down by 823 points or 1 per cent, while Nifty50 closed at 24,888 levels, down by 253 points or 1.01 per cent.
Forty three of the 50 Nifty stocks nursed losses, dragged by Tata Motors, Trent Titan, Shriram Finance, Coal India, Tata Steel, M&M, Eternal, L&T, Power Grid, Jio Finance, SBI, Bajaj Auto, Tata Consumer Products, Adani Enterprises, HUL, BEL, Neslte India, Axis Bank, Infosys, and Ultratech Cemeny. These shares were down in the range of 1.5 per cent to 3 per cent.
In the broader markets, the Nifty MidCap index was down 1.6 per cent, and the Nifty SmallCap fell by 1.78 per cent.
Why are markets falling today? Key reasons behind Sensex, Nifty fall on June 12:
Nifty F&O expiry:
The weekly expiry of the Nifty weekly derivative contracts is scheduled to expire today. According to technical analysts, the Nifty index has been showing lack of upward momentum over the past two days.
"A direct fall below 24,900-24,863 could signal weakness," said Anand James, chief market strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.
Meanwhile, Options data reflects a near-neutral stance, with aggressive put writing observed at strikes near the current market price. Call writers, on the other hand, have begun adding positions at elevated levels, hinting at a cautiously optimistic outlook.
"The 25,500 strike continues to dominate in terms of open interest on the call side (1.25 crore contracts), representing a prominent overhead resistance level. Conversely, the 25,000 strike has witnessed significant put addition (1.02 crore contracts), reinforcing its status as a formidable support zone," said Dhupesh Dhameja, derivatives research analyst, SAMCO Securities.
The Put-Call Ratio (PCR) dipped modestly from 0.93 to 0.86 on Wednesday, indicating a slight rise in bearish positioning and highlighting the presence of supply pressure at higher levels.
Max pain currently stands at 25,100, suggesting that the market may gravitate toward this level as expiry approaches, he added.
Rising tensions between US-Iran:
Tensions between Washington and Tehran seem to be escalating with US President Donald Trump saying that US personnel were being evacuated from the Middle East due to security concerns.
This development comes in the backdrop of Trump's efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran hitting a deadlock, and US intelligence indicating that Israel could strike Iran's nuclear facilities.
Rising oil prices:
Follwing the rising tensions between Iran and the US, futures of Brent crude oil rose 4.3 per cent to close at $69.77 a barrel on Wednesday. US West Texas Intermediate crude, too, gained 4.9 per cent to settle at $68.15 per barrel. Oil prices are at 10-week high. Notably, Brent crude futures are down 1 per cent on Thursday at $68.93 per barrel.
Global markets, US futures fall:
European markets opened lower on Thursday with Germany's DAX index sliding 1.3 per cent, followed by a decline of 0.8 per cent in France's CAC 40 index. The UK's FTSE index was flat in the red, while Europe's STOXX 600 index declined 0.8 per cent.
US futures, too, were trading lower, suggesting a weak open for Wall Street today. S&P 500 futures traded down 0.57 per cent, while Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.62 per cent. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were also lower by 244 points or 0.57 per cent.
Trump's trade deal deadline nears:
The deadline to implement US President Donald Trump's sweeping reciprocal tariffs is nearing, with Trump believing extending the deadline "would not be necessary".
Donald Trump's 3-month pause on reciprocal tariffs against its trading partners is scheduled to end on July 9. On Wednesday, Trump said he would start "sending out letters" in the coming weeks, outlining the terms of trade deals.