Mumbai — Indian stock markets closed in the red on Thursday as escalating geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan sparked a late-session sell-off, undermining early optimism and triggering caution among investors.
The BSE Sensex dropped 411 points, or 0.51%, to end the day at 80,334. The NSE Nifty followed a similar trajectory, slipping below the 24,300 mark to close at 24,273, down 0.51%. The index had opened flat at 24,431 and briefly touched an intra-day high of 24,447 before declining sharply in the final hour of trade.
The downturn came after the Indian government confirmed that its armed forces had conducted strikes on multiple air defense systems inside Pakistan. The strikes follow India’s earlier offensive, Operation Sindoor, which targeted nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Wednesday in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.
Investors reacted swiftly to the news, adopting a risk-averse stance amid concerns over potential further escalation. The sharp late-session retreat reflected the market’s sensitivity to geopolitical developments and a growing preference for safer assets in uncertain times.
Market sentiment was further dampened by hawkish comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which warned of rising inflationary pressures and potential risks to employment—an outlook that weighed on global equity markets.
Among the Sensex gainers, Kotak Mahindra Bank led with a 0.81% increase, followed by Axis Bank (up 0.7%), and Titan (up 0.69%). HCL Technologies and Tata Motors also ended slightly higher. However, the broader market remained under pressure.
Mid- and small-cap stocks bore the brunt of the sell-off. The Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 2.16%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 declined by 1.6%, signaling widespread weakness across sectors.
While Indian markets experienced a moderate decline, the reaction in Pakistan was more severe. The Karachi Stock Exchange’s benchmark KSE-100 index plunged 6% during the day, prompting an emergency halt in trading to prevent a broader panic.
With geopolitical tensions running high and global economic uncertainty lingering, analysts expect market volatility to remain elevated in the near term. (Source: IANS)
