Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Monday as renewed hostilities between the US and Iran and rising oil prices unnerved investors.
Profit booking in select counters and selling pressure in IT, auto and oil stocks also dragged the benchmarks lower, traders said.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 372.10 points, or 0.48 per cent, to settle at 76,728.37. During the day, it tanked 478.72 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 76,621.75.
A total of 2,629 stocks declined, while 1,712 advanced and 218 remained unchanged on the BSE.
The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 109.75 points, or 0.46 per cent, to end at 23,946.25.
"Geopolitical tensions escalated sharply over the weekend as the US and Iran exchanged attacks over the Strait of Hormuz before agreeing to halt hostilities and renew talks, keeping losses in check, but raising serious questions over the deal's durability and heightening the risk of a breakdown, leaving headline risk and volatility deeply embedded in market reactions," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.
From the Sensex pack, Kotak Mahindra Bank declined 3.24 per cent after the firm said its MD and CEO, Ashok Vaswani, will quit upon completion of his three-year tenure and will not seek re-appointment when his current term ends on December 31, 2026.
Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti, InterGlobe Aviation, UltraTech Cement and Larsen & Toubro were also among the laggards.
In contrast, Eternal, Trent, Bharat Electronics and NTPC were among the gainers.
The BSE SmallCap Select index declined 0.65 per cent, and the MidCap Select index dipped 0.60 per cent.
Sectorally, Auto tumbled 2.11 per cent, Focused IT tanked 1.53 per cent, Oil & Gas (1.40 per cent), Services (1.21 per cent), IT (1.04 per cent) and Consumer Discretionary (0.91 per cent).
Healthcare, Utilities, Capital Goods, MidSmall Private Banks, Quality Tilt and Power were the gainers.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 1.51 per cent to USD 73.09 per barrel.
"Investor sentiment remained cautious as participants balanced optimism surrounding the ongoing US-Iran diplomatic talks against renewed geopolitical risks in the Middle East following fresh military developments over the weekend.
"Stock-specific developments also dominated the session, with weakness in the IT pack following acquisition-related concerns, while leadership-related developments in select banking names further weighed on the benchmark indices," Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi settled lower, while Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended in positive territory.
Markets in Europe were trading lower in mid-session deals.
US markets ended marginally lower on Friday.
Stock markets were closed on Friday for Muharram.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 383.76 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
On Thursday, the Sensex settled 109.25 points, or 0.14 per cent, higher at 77,100.47. The Nifty rose by 34.35 points, or 0.14 per cent, to end at 24,056.