New Delhi, April 24 -- The Indian stock market opened lower on Friday, dragged down by a sharp rise in crude oil prices and escalating U.S.-Iran tensions that have heightened geopolitical uncertainty. The Nifty 50 slipped around 150 points to 24,007 points in early trade, down 0.7 per cent, while the BSE Sensex shed over 623.73 points to hover near 77,042.27 points, down 0.8 per cent. Most sectoral indices traded in the red, with Nifty IT among the worst hit.

The weak start comes despite a mixed performance across Asian markets, where investors remained cautious even after a three-week extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire failed to ease broader geopolitical concerns. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.71 per cent while the Topix rose 0.30 ...