Delhi, 9 May (H.S.): On Friday, a significant decline was observed in the Indian stock market, as 190 stocks, including notable companies like ACC Ltd, AIA Engineering Ltd, and Vedant Fashions Ltd, hit their 52-week lows. The downturn was primarily triggered by heightened border tensions following Pakistan's drone and missile attacks on Indian cities, particularly in Punjab, Jammu, and Rajasthan, leading to panic selling in financial, banking, and realty sectors. Despite India's military response, investor sentiment shifted toward caution.
At the market's close, both Sensex and Nifty fell by over 1.1%, with Sensex dropping 1,366.47 points to an intraday low of 78,968.34, while Nifty 50 reached a low of 23,935.75, down more than 338 points from the previous day. Among top Sensex stocks, there was significant selling pressure, with ICICI Bank, Power Grid, and Bajaj Finance among the largest losers, experiencing declines between 2% to 3.5%. Major players like HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries also fell between 1.5% and 2%, exacerbating the market's descent.
Sectoral indices exhibited mixed performance; however, the financial, private bank, and realty sectors were the primary contributors to the overall market drop. The Nifty Financial Services index plunged by 2%, while the Nifty Realty index saw a nearly 3% nosedive. Additionally, the Nifty Private Bank sector dropped over 1.3%, and even the Nifty FMCG faced a decline of about 1%. Conversely, Nifty PSU Bank managed to gain 1.4%.
BSE Midcap index ended flat, while smallcap index was down 0.3 percent.
Experts are increasingly wary about India's market outlook amid rising tensions with Pakistan, with the rupee weakening to a six-month low of nearly 86 against the dollar. Despite geopolitical challenges, the rupee remains relatively resilient this year, as noted by Trading Economics. Meanwhile, US WTI and Brent Crude prices have risen due to optimism surrounding US-China trade talks following adjustments to the US-UK trade deal. However, OPEC+ has decided to increase output, limiting potential crude oil price gains.
In the stock market, the Nifty index formed a triangle pattern on the hourly chart but closed beneath it at 3:30 PM, with a higher overall close resulting from price adjustments.
ICICI Bank, Power Grid Corp, UltraTech Cement, Shriram Finance, Grasim Industries were among major losers on the Nifty, while gainers were Titan Company, Tata Motors, L&T, Bharat Electronics, Hero MotoCorp.
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
