Indian stock markets close in red amid escalating India-Pakistan tension

MUMBAI: The Indian stock markets on Thursday remained flat during the morning session but started dipping as soon as news came about the escalation of tension between India and Pakistan. Both Sensex and Nifty closed in red territory, exhibiting a shaken investor confidence.

At the end of the trading session today, the Sensex was down 411.97 points or 0.51 percent at 80,334.81, and the Nifty at National Stock Exchange (NSE) was down 140.60 points or 0.58 percent at 24,273.80.

At the NSE, the stocks of Shriram Finance, Eternal, M&M, Tata Consumer, Adani Enterprises declined making them the losers, while HCL Technologies, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan Company, Axis Bank, Coal India were the major gainers in the trading.

The Nifty opened on a flat note at 24,431 and briefly touched an intraday high of 24,447. However, during the second half of the trading session, the index witnessed a sharp decline, slipping to a low of 24,313.

“This downturn was largely driven by escalating geopolitical tensions along the India-Pakistan border, which weighed heavily on investor sentiment”, said Sundar Kewat, Technical and Derivatives Analyst, Ashika Institutional Equity.

However, V L A Ambala, SEBI-registered research analyst and Co-Founder of Stock Market Today said, “Despite the growing tensions and near-war-like situations between India and Pakistan, markets remain resilient, largely due to India’s success in securing free trade agreements (FTA) with countries like the UK. In addition, the US Fed has not imposed any additional pressure on India’s monetary policy”.

“In addition, the US Fed has not imposed any additional pressure on India’s monetary policy. However, with geopolitical risks intensifying, a cautious approach is advised to traders,” she said.

On the sectoral front, pockets of resilience were observed in Media, Information Technology, and Financial Services. Conversely, notable weakness emerged in sectors of automobiles, healthcare, metals, and realty sectors.

According to the data provided by the experts, the foreign portfolio investors, such as Goldman Sachs, Camas Investments PTE Ltd., Nalanda, Capital Group, Artisan Fund, and Kotak Funds, witnessed significant erosion in their Indian portfolio values, ranging from 10 per cent to 22 per cent. (ANI)