Indian equity indices were trading in the deep red on Thursday as there were weak global cues and tensions went up in the Middle East and specter of a full-fledged war between Iran and Israel. At 9:38 a.m., the Sensex was down 589 points or 0.69 percent at 83,686 while the Nifty was down 174 points or 0.68 percent at 25,622.
Weak trend continued to be there in the broader markets through the early trading hour. On the National Stock Exchange, 256 were reported to be trading green while 1,188 were trading red .
On the Sensex 28 out of 30 stocks were trading red.
Wipro (NS:WIPR), Asian Paints (NS:ASPN), Tata Motors (NS:TAMO), M&M (NS:MAHM), Maruti Suzuki (NS:MRTI), Reliance (NS:RELI), Nestle (NS:NEST), ICICI Bank (NS:ICBK), Titan (NS:TITN), TCS (NS:TCS), L&T, HUL, Kotak Mahindra Bank (NS:KTKM), HDFC Bank (NS:HDBK), Bajaj Finserv (NS:BJFS), HUL, Axis Bank (NS:AXBK), and Bajaj Finance (NS:BJFN) were the worst performers. Only JSW Steel (NS:JSTL) and Tata Steel (NS:TISC) were in the green.
Major sectoral index gainers were Auto, FMCG, Realty, Media, Energy, and Private Bank. The only index in the green was metal.
Mixed trading is seen in Asian markets. Tokyo and Taipei are trading in the green whereas Hong Kong, Bangkok, Seoul, and Jakarta are trading in the red.
US stocks closed with modest gains Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite, which holds the most tech stocks, rose 0.08 percent. The S&P 500 edged up 0.01 percent and Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.09 percent.
Experts in the market say that situation can change if Israel attacks any oil installations in Iran, which will trigger a huge spike in crude. If it happens, it can turn out to be more damaging for oil importers like India. Therefore, investors should keep watching the emerging situation very closely. A partial switch in portfolios to defensives like Pharma and FMCG also can be thought of.
The foreign institutional investors continued to sell as FIIs sold equities worth Rs 5,579 crore on October 1, whereas domestic institutional investors continued to buy as they bought equities worth Rs 4,609 crore on the same day.
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