Mumbai: The Indian equity market closed in the deep red on Friday following conflict in the Middle East.
Indian investors have lost over Rs 14 lakh crore in the last two trading sessions as the market cap of all listed companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) skewed to Rs 461 lakh crore from Rs 475 lakh crore earlier.
At closing, the Sensex was down 808 points, or 0.98 percent, at 81,688, and the Nifty was down 235 points, or 0.93 percent, at 25,014. This represents a significant decline in the market indices, reflecting the extent of the sell-off triggered by the Middle East crisis.
M&M, Bajaj Finance, Nestle, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement, ITC, HUL, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, Reliance, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank and NTPC were the top losers. The top gainers were Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, TCS and SBI.
Selling was also seen in midcap and smallcap stocks. The Nifty Midcap index closed at 58,747, down 550 points or 0.93 percent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index settled at 18,758, down 193 points or 1.02 percent.
Among the sectoral indices, Auto, Financial services, pharma, FMCG, metal, realty, energy, and services were the major laggards. Only the IT and PSU bank indices are closed in red.
How PM Modi Fulfilled the Last Wishes of a Freedom Fighter 56 Years After Independence
India VIX, an indicator of market volatility, closed at 14.12, up 7.21 percent.
Market experts suggest that the bearish sentiment may be temporary as investors monitor the escalating conflict in the Middle East. They advise adopting a sell-on recovery strategy, indicating a potential for market rebound.
“The drag was across sectors led by realty, auto, and FMCG except IT stocks, which gained due to expected benefits from US rate cuts and defensive nature. The pessimism on the market is expected to continue in the near term amidst rising crude prices, and fund flows to cheaper markets like China,” they added.
On October 3, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 15,243 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 12,914 crore on the same day.
For more updates Subscribe to Media Eye News
–IANS
