India-Pakistan Tensions Trigger Selloff In Stock Markets, Sensex Falls 880 Points

The selloff followed Pakistan’s firing of eight missiles at Indian cities in retaliation for India’s precision strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Notably, Indian air defence systems successfully intercepted all the missiles.

Consequently, the Sensex dropped 880.34 points, or 1.10 per cent, to end at 79,454.47. Similarly, the Nifty fell 265.80 points, or 1.10 per cent, to close at 24,008.

Commenting on the fall, Rupak De of LKP Securities said, “Nifty traders embraced risk-off trades amid India-Pakistan tensions, pulling the index from its recent consolidation zone.” Nevertheless, the index managed to hold above 24,000, finding support at its 21-day exponential moving average (EMA), he added.

Meanwhile, ICICI Bank led the laggards among Sensex’s 30 stocks, dropping 3.09 per cent. PowerGrid fell 2.61 per cent, while Bajaj Finance and Reliance Industries both declined 1.84 per cent.

On the other hand, a few stocks bucked the trend. Titan surged 4.25 per cent, followed by Larsen and Toubro at 4.02 per cent, Tata Motors at 3.86 per cent, State Bank of India at 1.39 per cent, and Asian Paints, which edged up 0.2 per cent.

Across sectors, investor sentiment remained weak. Notably, the Nifty Bank, financial services, and realty indices dropped over 1 per cent, with realty emerging as the worst performer, plunging nearly 2 per cent.

In addition, other major sectors such as auto, IT, energy, pharma, FMCG, healthcare, and oil and gas also closed in the red.

However, a few segments provided some relief. Specifically, Nifty PSU Bank, consumer durables, media, and metal stocks managed to post gains.

In the broader market, the Nifty Midcap 100 ended flat. Conversely, the Nifty Smallcap 100 dipped 0.61 per cent.

Meanwhile, the rupee moved in a volatile range of 85.90 to 85.35 amid the ongoing border tensions. As a result, market participants remained cautious.

“Any fresh developments on the geopolitical front are likely to impact the rupee’s direction,” said Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities.

Also Read: Gautam Adani Voices Strong Support For Indian Forces As Cross-Border Tensions Escalate