Sensex, Nifty fall as India-Pak tensions intensify: Rs 3.5L cr investor wealth lost

Indian equity benchmarks fell sharply in Friday's trade, dragged by a majority of sectoral indices as India-Pakistan tensions escalate. The BSE Sensex slumped more than 500 points while the NSE barometer Nifty tested 24,100 level. At 9:22 am, the 30-pack Sensex was down 514 points or 0.64 per cent at 79,820. The NSE benchmark was down 160 points or 0.66 cent at 24,114. Such was the fall in the domestic indices that around Rs 3.5 lakh crore of BSE market capitalisation (m-cap) was wiped out.

In contrast, Asian stocks mostly climbed on global optimism on tariff deals. Nikkei and DJ surged more than a per cent, each, while AXS 200 and Hang Seng also inched up. KOSPI was seen in red.

Here's a look at today's market fall in numbers:

Rs 3.5 lakh crore investor wealth lost

Investor wealth, as suggested by the BSE m-cap, fell Rs 3.48 lakh crore to Rs 415.01 lakh crore compared with a valuation of Rs 418.50 lakh crore recorded in the previous session.

116 stocks hit 52-week lows on BSE

As many as 116 stocks hit their 52-week lows today. BSE 500 stocks such as ACC, AIA Engineering, Central Bank, Galaxy Surfactants, Jindal Saw, Vedant Fashions and Syngene International their respective one-year low levels. That said, 15 stocks touched their one-year high levels today.

2,509 stocks in the red

Out of 2,990 stocks, 2,509 stocks were seen declining. Only 400 stocks were advancing, while 81 stocks remained unchanged.

MCX, IEX & Zomato down up to 5%

Shares of MCX, Poly Medicure, EIH, Indian Hotels, Jyoti CNC, Grindwell Norton, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra), Concord Biotech, JBM Auto and Anant Raj fell up to 5.25 per cent.

Financials & FMCG among top drags

For Sensex, the major culprits that dragged the index lower were HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries Ltd, PowerGrid, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, ITC, HUL, Kotak Mahindra Bank, TCS and Bajaj Finance.

On NSE, 14 out of 17 sub-indices were down. Nifty Financial Services, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Realty fell sharply.

FII-DII data

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought Rs 2,007.96 crore worth of shares on a net basis during the previous session, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold Rs 596.25 crore worth of equity, according to stock exchange data.