Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty closed in the red on Monday, pressured by sharp losses in blue-chip stocks Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Eternal, as rising geopolitical tensions and renewed global tariff concerns weighed on investor sentiment.

Traders said subdued quarterly earnings, continued weakness in the rupee and sustained foreign fund outflows further unsettled markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 324.17 points, or 0.39 per cent, to settle at 83,246.18. During intraday trade, it dropped as much as 672.04 points. The NSE Nifty declined 108.85 points, or 0.42 per cent, to close at 25,585.50.

Despite a weak opening, selective buying at lower levels helped indices recover part of the losses.

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"Indian equity markets traded in a narrow range with a cautious undertone, as tariff-related concerns and geopolitical uncertainties kept global investors on edge. Fresh threats from US President Donald Trump over additional tariffs on select European countries triggered a global risk-off mood, which weighed on domestic sentiment. Persistent selling by foreign investors, along with continued weakness in the rupee against the dollar, added to the pressure on Indian equities, keeping participants defensive through the session," said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money.

Among Sensex stocks, Reliance Industries dropped 3.04 per cent after reporting flat Q3 net profit of Rs 18,645 crore, as lower gas production and weakness in the retail business offset gains in other segments.

ICICI Bank fell 2.26 per cent after its consolidated December-quarter profit declined 2.68 per cent to Rs 12,537.98 crore, impacted by an RBI-mandated Rs 1,283-crore provision for agricultural loans wrongly classified as priority sector advances. On a standalone basis, the bank reported a more than 4 per cent fall in quarterly profit at Rs 12,883 crore.

Eternal, Titan, Adani Ports, TCS and UltraTech Cement were also among the laggards. InterGlobe Aviation, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever and Bajaj Finance closed higher.

"Global risk appetite weakened after US President Donald Trump announced new tariff threats against eight European nations, reigniting concerns of a potential US-EU trade dispute. This development triggered a broad risk-off mood across global equity markets, prompting investors to rotate toward safe-haven assets like gold," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.

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"Domestically, sentiment remains cautious amid ongoing FII outflows. With the Q3 earnings season progressing, stock-specific volatility is likely, particularly where performance has been mixed," he added.

The BSE smallcap index dropped 1.28 per cent, while the midcap index declined 0.43 per cent. Realty, energy, oil & gas, telecom and utilities stocks led sectoral losses.

In global markets, Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed lower, while South Korea’s Kospi and Shanghai’s Composite ended higher. European indices were trading sharply down. US markets closed marginally lower on Friday.

The rupee breached the 91-per-dollar mark for the second time this month before ending 14 paise lower at 90.92 against the greenback. Brent crude slipped 1.22 per cent to USD 63.35 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the IMF raised India’s growth projection for FY26 to 7.3 per cent, citing stronger-than-expected economic performance.