At 3 PM, the Sensex was trading at 81,462.89, down 120.41 points or 0.15%, while the Nifty was at 24,815.35, lower by 38.05 points or 0.15%.
Indian equity indices were trading on a slightly lower note due to continuing tensions in West Asia. However, news reports suggested that India could turn to Australia for rare-earth magnets, which could support the markets’ sentiments.
The NSE Nifty 50 opened 58 points, or 0.23%, lower at 24,795, while the BSE Sensex opened 240 points, or 0.29%, lower at 81,344.
In line with the overall markets, Bank Nifty opened 120 points or 0.21% lower at 55,595. The Nifty Midcap 100 opened 154 points or 0.26% lower at 58,225.
“The latest tweet by President Trump and the US defence movements in West Asia signalled the aggravation of the conflict. However, there is no panic in global equity markets, and it appears that the markets’ assessment is that this conflict will end soon without impacting the global economy,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments.
“It is important to understand that after the Covid crash, which took the Nifty to a low of 7,511 in March 2020, we are in a bull market which has been climbing all walls of worry. The market is likely to climb due to the Israel-Iran conflict worry, too,” added Vijayakumar.
“Technically, a reversal formation on intraday charts and a bearish candle on daily charts indicate temporary weakness. We believe that as long as the market is trading below 24,900, the weak sentiment is likely to continue. On the downside, 24,775 would be the immediate support zones for traders. Below this, the market could slip to 24,675-24,625,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities.
Here are key highlights from the early session-
Top performers leading the charge
Among the top gainers on the Nifty 50 were IndusInd Bank, ONGC, M&M, Trent, and Shriram Finance. The top movers in the Nifty 50 were M&M, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank, Maruti Suzuki, and Tata Consultancy Services as soon as markets opened.
Stocks in the red
The stocks that remained under pressure included Kotak Mahindra Bank, Power Grid Corp, NTPC, JSW Steel, and HDFC Bank were the laggards in the morning trade.
Israel-Iran conflict
The military conflict between Iran and Israel has now entered the sixth day, with both countries launching missiles at each other despite calls for peace from other nations. U.S. President Donald Trump has told Iran to surrender without any conditions and warned that the U.S. knows where Iran’s top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is hiding, but they do not plan to harm him for now. Trump also said the U.S. does not want any missiles to hit civilians or American soldiers and warned that their patience is running out.