Benchmark stock indices opened lower on Tuesday, continuing their decline for thesecond consecutive dayamid weak global cues and heightened geopolitical uncertainty. Early trade was weighed down by losses in IT and financial stocks.

TheS&P BSE Sensexfell269.93 pointsto82,976.25, while theNSE Nifty50dropped69.25 pointsto25,516.25as of 9:30 AM.

Sectoral movers:

• Top gainers:Kotak Mahindra Bank (+0.86%), State Bank of India (+0.75%), UltraTech Cement (+0.60%), ICICI Bank (+0.25%), ITC (+0.23%)

• Top losers:Eternal (-2.97%), Bajaj Finance (-2.65%), IndiGo (-1.63%), Trent (-1.60%), Asian Paints (-1.53%)

Dr.VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, noted that market volatility is likely to continue in the near term due to uncertainty over theUS-Europe standoff on Greenland tariffs. He highlighted that a potential US Supreme Court ruling on Trump’s tariffs could change market sentiment overnight.

On the positive side, theIMF raised India’s FY26 GDP growth forecast to 7.3%, reflecting a robust economy despite global headwinds. However, earlyQ3 corporate earningshave not yet shown broad recovery, though strong performance in the auto sector is encouraging.

Vijayakumar advised investors to maintain a cautious approach, focusing onhigh-quality stocksandgradually investing on market dips, as geopolitical and economic developments continue to influence market direction.