Mkts in red for 2nd day amid Pahalgam concerns

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined sharply on Friday due to selling in Axis Bank and growing tensions along the Indo-Pak border following the terror attack at Pahalgam in Jammu & Kashmir. Wiping out early gains, the 30-share BSE barometer tanked 588.90 points or 0.

74 per cent to settle at 79,212.53. During the day, it dropped 1,195.



62 points or 1.49 per cent to 78,605.81.

Falling for the second day, the NSE Nifty tumbled 207.35 points or 0.86 per cent to 24,039.

35. Experts said worries over growing geopolitical tensions after Tuesday’s Pahalgam terror attack weighed on market sentiment. All sectoral indices except for IT index closed in the red, while midcap and smallcap indices dropped more than two per cent due to profit taking.

“Investor sentiment turned cautious amid escalating tensions along the Indo-Pak border. Mid and smallcap stocks bore the brunt of the sell-off, driven by their elevated valuations and growing concerns over potential earnings downgrades following a muted start to the earnings season,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Investments Limited. The BSE smallcap gauge tanked 2.

56 per cent and midcap dropped 2.44 per cent. “The heightened geopolitical uncertainty has led investors to adopt a risk-off approach, triggering profit-booking after the recent sharp rally.

Furthermore, the markets appeared slightly overstretched following the vertical rise, prompting traders to reduce exposure,” added Ajit Mishra, sr V-P (research), Religare Broking Ltd. IT and BSE Focused IT ended higher. As many as 3,246 stocks declined while 719 advanced and 119 remained unchanged on the BSE.

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