The trends on Gift Nifty also indicate a negative start for the Indian benchmark index. The Gift Nifty was trading around 25,425 level, a discount of nearly 50 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close.

Sensex today witnessed decline of 650 points or 0.79% to 81,846 and Nifty 50 fell nearly 190 points or 0.75% to 25,060 in late afternoon trade on October 4 amid weak global cues. Meanwhile, Reliance Industries Ltd shares plunged 0.

Concerns over the escalating conflict in the Middle East have raised fears of potential disruptions to crude supplies from the top oil-producing region, pushing prices higher—a situation that impacts net importers like India.

The trends on Gift Nifty also indicate a gap-down start for the Indian benchmark index. The Gift Nifty was trading around 25,720 level, a discount of nearly 255 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close.

Nifty is trading at 21.5 times its one-year forward earnings, which is above its historical average of 20.4 times. India is being perceived as relatively expensive market compared with other emerging market peers.

India stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Real Estate, Capital Goods and Auto sectors led shares lower. At the close in NSE, the Nifty 50 fell 2.12%, while the BSE Sensex 30 index lost 2.