The stock market went through a volatile trading session reflecting the true concerns of all Indians, amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. After beginning the day on a high, and rising almost 1% intraday, the benchmark BSE Sensex which had gained more than 400 points and the 50-share Nifty index which was up more than 100 points, surrendered all its gains and plunged deep into negative territory as news about Pakistani fighter jets violating Indian airspace in the Nowshera sector of Jammu & Kashmir emerged and gave rise to concerns of a full fledged conflict.
Civilian air traffic was disrupted as airports were shut down in parts of northern India and a high level security meeting was called by the Home Minister Rajnath Singh. However, the most concerning bit of news came in when reports of two Indian fighter jets crashing began to surface, one in Kashmir and the other more disturbingly, in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. This happened around mid-day, and in response to this, the market nosedived to its lowest point at 12.15 pm, down more than 0.5% percentage point. Followed by choppiness thereafter, the indices stabilised towards the end, but closed in negative territory.
The 30 share Sensex settled 68 points lower at 35,905 points translating into a 0.19% loss and the Nifty 50 closed 28.65 points down at 10,806.70 or 0.26% lower.
There are still worries that the sensitive Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), who have been pumping sizeable funds into the Indian bourses may slow down their activity due to uncertain climate created by the faceoff.
Ours was not the only casualty, as the 100 share Karachi Stock Exchange cracked 1500 points or 3.5% intraday, continuing yesterday’s decline after the Indian air force carried out a strike on terror camps in Pakistan. However, the index recovered around closing trade and settled 0.33% lower.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
