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Here are the top factors behind today's stock market decline:
1) Iran-US ceasefire hopes fade
2) Oil prices shoot up above $95
3) Global markets in red
4) FII selling continues
5) Rupee declines
6) Profit-booking
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Indian stock markets snapped a five-session gaining streak and slipped into the red on Thursday as fading hopes for the Iran-US ceasefire, among other factors, dampened investor sentiment.Sensex plunged up to 1,000 points to the day's low of 76,558, while Nifty50 declined over 222 points to slip below the 23,740 level, at 2 pm.Infosys, Adani Ports, UltraTech Cement, HCLTech, and L&T were among the top losers on Sensex, falling up to 2%, while Tata Steel, NTPC, BEL and Power Grid were among the top gainers.India Vix, which measures volatility in markets, gained more than 6% after dropping around 20% in the previous session. Nifty IT was the top sectoral loser on NSE , falling nearly 1%, while Nifty Metal gained over 1%.Midcap and smallcap indices, meanwhile, outperformed benchmarks to trade in the green. Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 indices were up with marginal gains. 597 stocks declined on NSE, while 1,969 advanced and 76 remained unchanged.While Iran and US finally agreed to a brief ceasefire, providing much-needed relief to global stock markets, Israel continued its parallel war against the Iran-aligned militia Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran accused both Israel and US of violating the conditions of the ceasefire agreement, and said that proceeding with peace talks would be "unreasonable".The Strait of Hormuz, which was all set to be opened for traffic, remained shut for vessels trying to pass through. "Violations of the ceasefire have been reported at few places across the conflict zone, which undermine the spirit of peace process," Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a post on X.Trump, meanwhile, took to Truth Social to say that US will ensure that the Strait is open and safe. “All U.S. Ships, Aircraft, and Military Personnel, with additional Ammunition, Weaponry, and anything else that is appropriate and necessary for the lethal prosecution and destruction of an already substantially degraded Enemy, will remain in place in, and around, Iran, until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with,” he said.“If for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the 'Shootin’ Starts,' bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before. It was agreed, a long time ago, and despite all of the fake rhetoric to the contrary - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS and, the Strait of Hormuz WILL BE OPEN & SAFE. In the meantime our great Military is Loading Up and Resting, looking forward, actually, to its next Conquest. AMERICA IS BACK!” he further wrote.Amid fading for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway for oil and gas transport through the Middle East, oil prices jumped on Thursday. Brent crude futures jumped over 2% to $96.70 per barrel, while WTI Crude gained nearly 3% to $97 per barrel. This comes a day after the oil prices dropped sharply from as high as $110 to below $95 per barrel after the ceasefire announcement.Global markets mostly remained in red amid fading hopes for the ceasefire actually taking effect. Japan’s Nikkei dropped 0.8%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.2%. South Korea’s Kospi plunged over 1.5%, and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.7%.While Wall Street closed in the deep green yesterday, Dow Jones futures are currently in the red, suggesting a weak opening for the American stock markets today.Foreign investors continue to remain net sellers of Indian equities, weighing on investor sentiment on Dalal Street. FIIs remained net sellers of Indian equities for the 26th consecutive session, selling shares worth nearly Rs 2,812 crore on Wednesday, according to data on NSE. While this does not reflect today’s activity, sustained outflows in recent sessions have weighed on investor sentiment, even as domestic institutional investors remain net buyers.After a sharp rally in recent sessions, rupee declined against the US dollar today. The Indian currency fell 16 paise to 92.70 against US dollar in early trade. rAfter a sharp downturn in March, rupee recovered some losses since the RBI last week stepped up its efforts to support the currency by barring banks from offering rupee non-deliverable forwards to resident and non-resident clients and preventing companies from rebooking cancelled forward contracts.The sharp decline in stock markets today comes after five sessions of strong gains. Ceasefire hopes and easing oil prices pushed Sensex higher up by more than 5,600 points or around 8% over the first five sessions in April. This may have led to investors resorting to profit booking at elevated levels.If the West Asian ceasefire holds, the market will remain resilient, according to VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments. He, however, noted that the latest development and possible cancellation of the ceasefire can further spike crude oil prices. "The uptrend witnessed yesterday will be at risk of losing steam. The big takeaway from the rally in the market yesterday is that fairly valued stocks depressed by FPI selling and shorting will bounce back at any time. Patience is the key,” he said.