Mumbai– Indian equity markets faced sharp selling pressure on Friday as rising tensions between India and Pakistan, following a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, spooked investor sentiment.
The Sensex opened on a positive note, reaching an early high of 80,131, but quickly reversed course, plunging to an intraday low of 78,606—a drop of 1,525 points—after reports of a ceasefire violation along the India-Pakistan border. The index recovered some ground but still ended the day 589 points lower at 79,213, down 0.7%.
The Nifty followed a similar path, rising to 24,365 before sliding to an intraday low of 23,848, a decline of 517 points. It closed at 24,039, down 207 points or 0.9%.
“Geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan continued to weigh heavily on investor sentiment, leading to a cautious approach across equities,” said Sundar Kewat of Ashika Institutional Equity.
Despite Friday’s losses, both indices posted weekly gains, with the Sensex adding 660 points and the Nifty rising by 187 points for the week.
Among the Sensex constituents, Axis Bank was the biggest drag following its Q4 earnings announcement. Other notable losers included Zomato, Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid Corporation, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Tata Motors, and SBI, each falling between 2% and 3%.
However, some tech and cement stocks provided support, with TCS, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, and Infosys closing in positive territory.
The broader market also saw significant declines, with both the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices dropping more than 2%.
Sector-wise, Realty, Healthcare, and Power were the hardest hit, each losing up to 3%. Auto, Capital Goods, Consumer Durables, and Metal sectors fell around 2% each. The Bankex and FMCG indices also ended lower, shedding about 1%.
Rupak De of LKP Securities noted that the Nifty broke down after a period of consolidation on the daily charts, signaling a rise in bearish sentiment. “In the short term, market direction will likely remain driven by sentiment, with potential for further downside. Key support levels are seen at 23,800 and 23,515,” he added. (Source: IANS)
