Stock market opens lower amid Iran-Israel tensions
The Hindu
Equity markets in Mumbai react to West Asia tensions, Sensex falls 692.91 points, Nifty 50 down by 234.40 points.
Nervousness gripped the equity markets on April 15 following the geopolitical tensions in West Asia. The NSE Nifty 50 was down 0.82% at 22,334.15 as of 9:18 a.m., while the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.86% to 73,624.
All the 13 major sectors logged losses. The broader, more domestically-focused small- and mid-caps lost about 3% and 2%, respectively.
The escalating tensions between Iran and Israel have sent ripples across global markets. Last Friday witnessed a significant decline in both Sensex and Nifty 50, with each index experiencing a slump of around 1%.
The Indian Rupee (INR) has also come under pressure in the interbank forex market. The Indian unit is now trading at 83.42 per U.S. Dollar (spot rate) as against it overnight close of 83.38 per U.S. dollar.
Dr. V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said, “There are many headwinds that will weigh on markets today: the renewed conflict in the Middle East, proposed changes in the India-Mauritius tax treaty and the hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation are negatives. But partly these negatives are in the price since a retaliation from Iran was expected and the higher U.S. inflation was discounted by the market on Friday.”
“Signals from the crude market indicate that the Iran-Israel conflict is unlikely to escalate. President Biden has clearly indicated that he doesn’t support Israeli retaliation. So, the situation may calm down. However, investors have to be guarded since the element of uncertainty is high during a tense situation like this.
IT stocks will be resilient on the back of better-than-expected numbers from TCS and promising outlook for FY 25. Banking stocks will exhibit strength since the results will be good and valuations are fair.”