Sensex, Nifty plunge over one per cent amid geopolitical tensions

Domestic benchmark indices opened flat to positive in morning trade but turned red during intra-day trade. Sensex and Nifty fell by more than 1 per cent as uncertainty over India-Pakistan relations affected investors' sentiment

Mumbai: Indian stock market saw a sharp decline on Friday within hours of opening of trade, as uncertainty over geopolitical tensions continues to spook the investors.

Domestic benchmark indices opened flat to positive in morning trade but turned red during intra-day trade. Sensex and Nifty fell by more than 1 per cent as uncertainty over India-Pakistan relations affected investors’ sentiment.

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At around 11:55 am, Sensex was trading 1,132.1 points or 1.42 per cent down at 78,669.26 while the Nifty declined 374.40 points or 1.54 per cent at 23,872.30.

Among the 30-share Sensex pack, Only Infosys, TCS, IndusInd Bank and Tech Mahindra were the top gainers. Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, PowerGrid, Bajaj Finance and Eternal were the top losers.

The drop gets even steep in the broader markets with the small and midcaps seeing over 3 per cent decline each. Nifty Bank was down 856.25 points or 1.55 per cent at 54,345.15. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 53,178.50 after declining 1,791.35 points or 3.26 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 16,352.75 after declining 610.76 points or 3.06 per cent.

On sectoral front, Nifty Media crashed 3.73 per cent, followed by Nifty Energy which fell 2.91 per cent. Nifty Realty declined 2.76 per cent. Nifty Metal shed 2.56 per cent and Nifty FMCG also declining between 1.3 per cent to 1.5 per cent.

Nifty PSU Bank was also in the red, down by 2.15 per cent during the intra-day session. According to analysts, throughout the day, investors will also be closely monitoring diplomatic updates related to the India-Pakistan situation, along with any reassuring statements from the government that could help ease concerns on Dalal Street.

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 8,250.53 crore on April 24. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold equities of Rs 534.54 crore on the same day.