Kamal Ghorui
Stock market today: Nifty50 and BSE Sensex dropped in opening trade on Friday as US-Iran war tensions and crude oil prices continued to weight on sentiment. While Nifty50 went below 23,100, BSE Sensex was down over 800 points. At 9:16 AM, Nifty50 was trading at 23,045.55, down 261 points or 1.12%. BSE Sensex was at 74,438.18, down 835 points or 1%.Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited says, “The on and off reaction of the market to news and events regarding the war is likely to continue in the near-term. The spike in Brent crude back to around $108 level will again trigger another round of risk-off in the Indian market. The market correction since the war began has brought down Nifty valuations to fair levels. Nifty is now trading at about 19 times, which is lower than the last 10-year average of 22.4 times. But if India’s macros take a hit due to this energy crisis, valuations may again decline factoring-in the feared hit to earnings growth in FY27.”“The Indian economy is strong enough to absorb the shock if the war ends, crude cools down and gas availability becomes normal. But if the war prolongs, crude remains elevated for months together, and gas availability constraints continue, the stress on India’s macros will be significant and the market will discount that. In brief, everything boils down to how long the war will last. The market hope is that since a prolonged war is in nobody’s interests, it may end soon. The US itself is now looking for an exit strategy. Market corrections and rising retail price of petroleum products may exert pressure on the US regime to cool down the conflict.”Global cues remained weak. US markets declined sharply, with the Nasdaq Composite dropping more than 2% to enter correction territory, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 1% each. Investors moved towards safer assets amid concerns over a potential escalation in the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, which has driven oil prices higher and intensified inflation worries.The weakness in Wall Street spilled over to Asian markets, with traders remaining cautious even after Donald Trump once again extended the deadline for Iran to reach an agreement. Crude oil prices, however, edged lower.On the domestic front, foreign institutional investors were net sellers on Wednesday, offloading equities worth Rs 1,805.37 crore. In contrast, domestic institutional investors remained net buyers, purchasing shares worth Rs 5,429.78 crore.(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)
