Kamal Ghorui
Stock market today: Equity benchmarks opened flat on Friday after a crash on Thursday due to escalating geopolitical tensions. While Nifty50 was above 25,450, BSE Sensex was near 82,500. At 9:17 AM, Nifty50 was trading at 25,471.70, up 17 points or 0.068%. BSE Sensex was trading at 82,505.86, up 8 points or 0.0094%.Yesterday, the stock market crashed in trade bringing an end to its three-session rally. Market experts believe investors are likely to adopt a cautious stance in the short term amid rising geopolitical tensions and concerns over potential disruptions to global oil supplies.Any intensification of the situation involving Iran may hinder cargo movement through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route. Such a development would pose significant challenges for India, which relies heavily on crude oil imports from that region.Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited says, “The sharp spike in Brent crude to $72 reflects growing fear and uncertainty in markets. President Trump’s warning that “Iran has 10 to 15 days to strike a deal or bad things happen “ has put the markets on tender hooks. Whether there will be a deal after the standoff, or whether missiles will fly will determine the market behaviour in the near-term. The continuing weakness in IT stocks is another dampener for the market. Amidst the many crises, the strength of the Indian economy and the recovery in corporate earnings as reflected in Q3 numbers, are positives for the market. If, hopefully, the US-Iran standoff gets resolved in the coming days, the market will bounce back. Therefore, investors may wait and watch the unfolding developments in West Asia. Meanwhile, investors who are optimistic about a possible deal can use the current weakness in the market to buy fairly valued high quality stocks in banking and financials, autos, pharmaceuticals, hotels, leading capital goods and telecom. Crisis have proved to be buying opportunities, in hindsight.”In the United States, major stock indices closed in the red on Thursday. Declines in private equity firms, along with weakness in Walmart and Apple, weighed on the market, although gains in industrial stocks following earnings announcements helped contain the overall drop.Meanwhile, Asian markets also moved lower as growing tensions surrounding Iran dampened investor confidence, while oil prices climbed to their highest level since August.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)
