Stock Market Highlights: Nifty Slips Below 24,280; Sensex Down Over 400 Points On India-Pak Conflict Jitters
Investor sentiment turned cautious on Thursday as geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan escalated. The benchmark indices ended in the red, reversing Wednesday's gains.
Tensions spiked following India's most significant military incursion into Pakistani territory since 1971. Early optimism in the markets faded as concerns mounted, leading to a sell-off in the latter half of the session.
Both indices opened on a strong note—the Nifty 50 at 24,431.50 and the Sensex at 80,912.34. However, the early gains could not be sustained. The NSE Nifty 50 closed 140.60 points lower, or down 0.58%, at 24,273.80, while the BSE Sensex ended down 411.97 points, or 0.51%, at 80,334.81.
During intraday trade, the Nifty dropped as much as 1.08% to 24,150.20, and the Sensex slipped 0.94% to 79,987.61, reflecting market unease amid rising geopolitical risks.
"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 – Ashika Stock Broking part of Ashika Group.
Shares of Axis Bank Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., HCL Technologies Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., and Infosys Ltd. led the gains in the Nifty.
While those of HDFC Bank Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd., Zomato's parent, Eternal Ltd. and ICICI Bank Ltd. dragged the index.
On the NSE, 13 out of 15 sectoral indices ended lower, with the Nifty Realty, Nifty Metal and Pharma falling the most. Nifty IT and Nifty Media were the only sectors to end in the green.
The BSE MidCap and SmallCap ended 1.90% and 1.05% lower, respectively.
Nineteen of the 21 sectors advanced, with the BSE Auto and BSE Oil and Gas Index declining the most.
Market breadth was skewed in favour of sellers. As much as 1,351 stocks advanced and 2,546 stocks declined, while 135 were unchanged on the BSE.
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