Indo-Pakistan geopolitical tensions trigger market crash, IT stocks show resilience

IT index showed resilience, while all other sectors including bank, realty, metal, pharma and media dragged the market.

Equity benchmark indices erased early gains due to escalating geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan following the terror attack in Pahalgam. Sensex plunged 1096.11 pts or 1.37 per cent to 78,705.32 as at 12.05 pm and Nifty 50 fell 350.90 pts or 1.45 per cent to 23,895.80.

The indexes were off the day’s low as at 12.38 pm.

Nifty midcap 100 dropped 2.82 per cent to 53,418.40 and Nifty smallcap 100 fell 3.26 per cent to 16,410.15. Volatility index surged 5.36 per cent to 17.12.

Profit booking, extended market rallies have impacted the market sentiment .According to Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments, there are tailwinds and headwinds for the market now. “A strong tailwind is the sustained FII buying and US Treasury Secretary Scot Bessent’s remark that “ India is expected to strike the first bilateral trade deal with the US.”

“The potential headwind looming large on the horizon is the uncertainty regarding India’s response to the terror attack and its consequences,” Vijaykumar added.

Top gainers & losers today

SBI Life Insurance, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, TCS and HCL Tech traded as only gainers of Nifty 50, while Axis Bank,Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Trent and Shriram Finance dragged 3-5 per cent.

SBI Life Insurance shares traded 4.38 per cent higher on the NSE, leading gainers, as at 12.14 pm. The stock rallied to ₹1,762 in early trade post Q4 results.

Tech Mahindra followed with 1.95 per cent increase to ₹1,473.40. Other IT stocks Infosys, TCS and HCL Tech showed marginal growths.

On the flip side, Axis Bank fell 4.37 per cent to ₹1,154.30 post Q4 results.

Stocks in action

Adani Group stocks including Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Adani Green, ACC, Adani Energy and Adani Power depreciated 3-6 per cent intraday.

In addition, shares of Shriram Finance, Reliance and Maruti are in focus today due to Q4 results.

Reliance Industries has erased early gains ahead of announcing results due to market slump. Shriram Finance fell 3.29 per cent to ₹673.70

Companies such as Maruti Suzuki, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance, Oracle Financial Services Software, Lloyds Metals and Energy, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, LT Finance, Bank of Maharashtra, Poonawalla Fincorp, Tata Technologies, and Dr Lal PathLabs will also announce Q4 results today. Track our Q4 live here

A total of 2,841 stocks were traded on the National Stock Exchange, of which 2,465 declined and 313 advanced. Nearly 130 stocks hit the lower circuit, which included Gensol Engering, JSW Holdings, ITI, Garware Hi Tech and MCL.

Meanwhile, shares of BSE, Dalmia, UltraTech Cement and JK Cement hit 52-week high in today’s trade.

Among midcap, shares of Motilal, SBI Cards, Waaree Energies, Vodafone Idea and ACC slumped 4-7 per cent. Cyient, GRSE. Anant Raj and Reliance Power plunged 4-6 per cent among smallcap.

On the BSE, shares of SBI Life, Mphasis, IEX and Persistent Systems lead gainers, while Jai Balaji, Prudent, Spandana and TARC plunge.

More Like This

Published on April 25, 2025