Mumbai, May 8: The Indian stock market opened lower on Friday due to escalating tensions between the United States and Iran. The Sensex fell by 212.58 points, or 0.27%, to 77,631.94, while the Nifty dropped by 93 points, or 0.38%, to 24,233.65.
In early trading, the broader markets showed a decline, with the auto and banking sectors leading the downturn. Key indices such as Nifty Auto, Nifty Private Bank, Nifty Financial Services, Nifty Oil & Gas, Nifty Services, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Consumption, Nifty PSE, and Nifty Commodities were all in the red. Conversely, Nifty India Defense, Nifty Pharma, and Nifty IT managed to stay in positive territory.
Mid-cap and small-cap stocks exhibited mixed performance. The Nifty Midcap 100 index fell by 76 points, or 0.12%, to 61,926.35, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index saw a slight increase of 8 points, reaching 18,701.
Among the gainers in the Sensex pack were Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Infosys, HCL Tech, Adani Ports, Titan, Bharti Airtel, Sam Pharma, Indigo, and TCS. On the losing side were Axis Bank, M&M, HDFC Bank, ITC, Bajaj Finance, Maruti Suzuki, UltraTech Cement, NTPC, and Tata Steel.
Most Asian markets also experienced declines due to the US-Iran tensions, with Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Jakarta, and Seoul all in the red. Only Bangkok managed to stay positive. The US stock market closed lower on Thursday, with the Dow Jones falling by 0.63% and the technology index Nasdaq down by 0.13%.
Experts noted that the cycle of rising and easing tensions in West Asia continues, leading to fluctuations in crude oil prices. A significant market trend amidst this crisis is that, despite geopolitical tensions, some markets are performing exceptionally well, while others are struggling. South Korea and Taiwan are among the best-performing countries this year, with returns of 71% and 40%, respectively, largely driven by certain AI stocks.
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