Geopolitical Tensions Drag Markets, Nifty Ends Week in Green
Geopolitical Tensions Drag Markets, Nifty Ends Week in Green
Indian shares slip on Friday as US-Iran tensions weigh on sentiment, but oil-price declines help Nifty claw weekly gains; banks lag while IT outperforms.
Mumbai: Indian equities ended weak on Friday as renewed US-Iran hostilities weighed on sentiment. The NSE Nifty 50 slipped 0.6% to 24,176.15, while the BSE Sensex fell 0.7% to 77,328.19. Despite the daily dip, both indices managed weekly gains of about 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively, helped by falling oil prices.
The Nifty Midcap 150 declined 0.14% on the day, whereas the Nifty Smallcap 250 rose 0.2%. For the week, midcaps gained around 3.5% and smallcaps about 4.2%.
Sectorally, the mood was mixed. The Nifty PSU Bank index dropped over 3%, with State Bank of India tumbling 6.7% after a weak earnings print. Bank Nifty slid about 1.3%. In contrast, the Nifty IT index rose 1.2%, helping some resilience to the overall market.
Oil also framed the sentiment. Brent crude oil futures edged up 0.2% to $100.3 a barrel on Friday after a week of declines, though the contracts were down about 7.1% for the week. The pullback in oil prices lent some support to earnings outlooks, but investors remained wary of elevated commodity costs.
Analysts described the session as a pause within a broader consolidation. The market is watching global tensions closely, with hopes of respite tempered by the risk of higher input costs weighing on corporate earnings in coming quarters. “The military confrontation between the US and Iran, despite talks of negotiation, kept investors on the edge,” noted Christy Mathai, fund manager at Quantum Mutual Fund. “There are hopes of some respite, but elevated commodities could tone down earnings expectations in the next few quarters due to higher input costs.”
Vipin Kumar, AVP Equity Research and PMS at Globe Capital Market, added, “Nifty has been consolidating in a narrow 800-point band between 23,800 and 24,600 levels for the past couple of weeks. The index is on the cusp of a breakout but is short on fresh triggers.” Overall, investors remained cautious about the broader earnings trajectory amid macro and geopolitical risk.
