Markets@11: Indices slump as war concerns deepen; realty worst-hit

The stock market witnessed a sharp decline today, driven by fears of war and other economic concerns. Both the Nifty and Bank Nifty started trading below their 20-day moving averages.

Except for metals and media, major indices dropped by more than 1%. The real estate sector faced the steepest losses, with the realty index falling by over 2%. Automotive and financial stocks also experienced significant declines.

Midcap and smallcap indices were similarly hit hard, recording substantial losses.

The Sensex plummeted 1,264 points in the morning to touch 83,002, while the Nifty dropped 346 points to reach 25,451. However, the losses were somewhat trimmed later in the day.

Steel stocks surged by up to 3%, follwing reports that the government is considering imposing anti-dumping duties on Chinese steel imports.

Fears of curbs on derivatives trading 

Concerns in the market suggest that upcoming restrictions on derivatives trading may reduce the revenue of exchanges. BSE shares, which initially fell due to this concern, later surged by 8%. Meanwhile, MCX and IEX stocks declined. Brokerage firms like Angel One and Geojit saw gains, attributed to the revised fee structure for trading transactions.

With crude oil prices on the rise, ONGC shares climbed 2%, while Oil India shares slipped. Chennai Petroleum also declined, whereas Petronet LNG rose by 2%. Oil marketing companies – IOC, HPCL, and BPCL – dropped by nearly 4%, mainly due to a sharp fall in refining margins.

Gold loan companies continued to decline today as well.

The rupee weakened further, influenced by the strengthening of the dollar index. The dollar opened 8 paise higher at ₹83.90, later rising to ₹83.93.

In global markets, gold was priced at $2,656 per ounce. In Kerala, gold jewellery prices surged by ₹80 to a record ₹56,880 per sovereign, driven by the rising dollar rate.

Crude oil prices remained relatively stable, with Brent crude trading at $74.82 per barrel.