Kamal Ghorui
Stock market today: Continuing the down trend, Nifty50 and BSE Sensex opened in red on Friday as oil prices climbed and the Strait of Hormuz closure halted important global trade. While Nifty50 went below 23,500, BSE Sensex was down over 580 points. At 9:17 AM, Nifty50 was trading at 23,461.40, down 178 points or 0.75%. BSE Sensex was at 75,446.08, down 588 points or 0.77%.Market experts say that the indices continue to show a weak underlying trend, amid ongoing US-Iran war and its impact on oil prices.Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited says, “With the heightened uncertainty surrounding the West Asian conflict continuing, globally markets are weak and in unchartered territory. Weakness in the US markets indicates that rebound in the market is some time away. With Brent crude around $100, bulls are on the defensive. With the FIIs persisting with their sustained selling strategy, even largecap bluechips are under pressure. One segment that is weathering the storm is pharmaceuticals. This sector is not impacted by external headwinds. In fact rupee depreciation is a positive for the sector, which is a major exporter. It appears that portfolio churns are happening in favour of pharmaceuticals. There is nothing much investors can do in these challenging times other than remaining calm and continuing with systematic investment.”Asian equities tracked overnight losses on Wall Street during early trade on Friday as oil prices remained under close watch. Concerns are rising that the ongoing conflict involving Iran could tighten global energy supplies and push inflation higher.US markets declined on Thursday after Iranian attacks on two oil tankers drove crude prices closer to the $100 per barrel mark. The sharp jump in oil prices added to worries about inflation and triggered selling in equities as investors turned cautious.However, oil prices edged lower on Friday morning after the United States granted a 30-day licence allowing countries to purchase Russian crude and petroleum products that are currently stranded at sea. The move helped ease immediate supply concerns.Foreign institutional investors continued to pare their exposure to Indian equities, selling shares worth Rs 7,050 crore on Thursday. Domestic institutional investors, on the other hand, provided support to the market as they bought equities worth Rs 7,449 crore on a net basis.(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)
