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Informist, Friday, May 9, 2025

By Akash Mandal

MUMBAI – Benchmark indices ended sharply lower Friday as investors are wary about the rising military strikes between India and Pakistan and further steps that the countries could take. Late Thursday, the Pakistani army targetted several regions in India with missiles and drones, the defence ministry said in a post, adding that these attacks were intercepted by the Indian military.

Indices opened the session gap down and remained lower throughout the session. The Nifty 50 eventually settled just above the crucial psychological level of 24000 points after dipping below it multiple times during the session. On the other hand, Pakistan's KSE-100 bounced back Friday and closed around 4% higher. The KSE-100 index has fallen more than 9% in the last four sessions after India launched Operation Sindoor in retaliation to the Apr. 22 terror attacks at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir.

Dragged down by a sharp fall in heavyweights such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Reliance Industries, the Nifty 50 fell 265.80 points or 1.1% and closed at 24008 points. The BSE Sensex fell 880.34 points or 1.1% to end at 79454.47 points. All broader market indices came off their intraday lows. While mid-cap indices managed to crawl back to end flat during the dying moments of the session, small-cap indices ended nearly 1% lower. These broader market indices had fallen 2-3% earlier in the session.

Trade was volatile due to uncertainty over whether the conflict between the two countries would escalate further. The India VIX, the fear gauge of the market, ended 3% higher at 21.6325. The indicator had spiked over 8% higher to a one-month high in early trade before coming off highs. The fear gauge has soared over 42% since Apr. 22.

Most sectoral indices ended in the red, with Nifty Realty, Nifty Financial Services, and Nifty Bank closing more than 1-2% lower and were the worst hit. On the other hand, defence stocks soared on hopes of an uptick in orders amid the rising conflict between India and Pakistan. The Nifty India Defence closed 3% higher and has risen over 5% since the terror attack in Pahalgam. Bharat Dynamics, Data Patterns (India), and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders ended 4-5% higher.

Public sector banks were the other big winners. Union Bank of India rose over 6% and pushed the Nifty PSU Bank higher by nearly 2%. The stock rose after the bank reported a net profit of INR 49.85 billion post market hours Thursday, beating the Street's estimate by a wide margin. Its net non-performing asset ratio also fell sequentially.

Among other stocks, Titan Co. ended over 4% higher as brokerages are bullish on the future prospects of the company. Its net profit for the March quarter jumped up nearly 11% on year and beat analysts' estimate. Nuvama Institutional Equities and Prabhudas Lilladher have raised their target prices on the stock by 10% and 2%, respectively, and maintained their 'buy' call. Shares of Larsen & Toubro also ended nearly 4% higher after its bottom line for the March quarter was above analysts' expectations. Brokerages are positive on the stock due to its strong order book.

Tata Motors was up for the third straight session, ending nearly 4% higher. The stock has risen over 9% since India signed a free trade agreement with the UK Wednesday. The deal is seen boosting the profitability of the company's UK-based arm Jaguar Land Rover. YES Bank gained nearly 10% after media reports said Japan-based Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. is in talks to buy a stake in the bank. The stock traded higher since the start of the session and rose further after State Bank of India said it will sell 13.92% stake in YES Bank to Sumitomo Mitsui.

Multi Commodity Exchange of India fell nearly 6% and was among the worst hit in the Nifty 500. Though the exchange's consolidated net profit for the March quarter rose 54% on year, its expenses rose nearly 65% on year.

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 11 rose and 39 fell

* Of the Sensex stocks, 5 rose and 25 fell

* On the NSE, 1,065 stocks rose, 1,738 fell, and 84 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 1,343 stocks rose, 2,522 fell, and 145 were unchanged

* Nifty Realty: down 2.4%; Nifty Financial Services: down 1.8%; Nifty India Defence: up 3%

BSE                                               NSE

Sensex: 79454.47, down 880.34 points or 1.1%      Nifty 50: 24008.00, down 265.80 points or 1.1%

End

Edited by Ashish Shirke

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