Indian benchmark indices opened lower on Thursday after renewed exchanges of strikes between the United States and Iran. The Nifty 50 dropped 0.43 percent to 23,114.50, while the Sensex fell 0.49 percent to 73,621.
US markets had closed sharply lower the previous day, marking the second consecutive decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each lost nearly 2 percent.
Technology stocks led the retreat. The Dow Jones dropped almost 1,000 points and closed below 50,000 for the first time in 14 sessions, pressured by declines in Caterpillar, Honeywell International and Goldman Sachs.
Asian markets also weakened on the back of the overnight US sell-off, with South Korea’s KOSPI falling nearly 2 percent in early trading.
In corporate news, Reliance Industries and Meta announced plans for a 168 MW AI data centre in Jamnagar. Meta and CleanMax expanded their renewable energy partnership in India beyond 900 MW. Bharti Airtel added more than 2,900 5G sites in northern states. Concord Biotech received USFDA approval for a generic drug with an estimated US market potential of 500 million dollars.
