Sensex and Nifty Drop 1% After Iran Attacks Pakistan

Arjun Pandit
17 Jan, 2024
Mumbai

Stocks in Mumbai dropped sharply after Iran launched drone strikes in Pakistan, Syria, and Iraq as the Israel-Hamas war spiraled into a wider war in the Middle East.

The Nifty and Sensex indexes dropped as much as 1% in early trading after Iran conducted strikes in the southwest Baluchistan province of Pakistan.

Iran conducted a "combination of missiles and drone strikes" targeting bases belonging to the Jaysh al-Dhulm, also known as the Jeysh al-Adl terrorist group, on Tuesday.

Iran said in mid-December that Jaish al-Adl stormed a police station in Sistan and Balouchestan province’s city of Rask, southeast of Iran, killing 11 Iranian police forces, according to Iran's state-aligned Tasnim news agency report today.

On Monday, Iran launched missile attacks in northern Iraq and Syria, and Iran-backed Houthi rebels stepped up their attacks in the Red Sea.

The prospect of a wider war disrupting crude oil supplies and merchant ship passage in the Red Sea kept investors in India and Asia on edge.

 

India Indexes and Yields

The Sensex index decreased 838.67 points to 72,290.10, and the Nifty index fell 231.80 points to 21,800.50.

On the Mumbai stock exchange, 112 stocks traded at their 52-week highs and 13 stocks traded at their 52-week lows.

The yield on the 10-year Indian government bonds eased 7.15%, and the Indian rupee edged lower to ₹83.14 against the U.S. dollar.

The gold price decreased by 0.1% to ₹61,995 per ten grams, and silver fell by 0.3% to ₹71,867 per kilo.

Crude oil decreased by 0.2% to ₹6,023 per barrel, and natural gas fell by 3.9% to ₹255.50 per thermal unit.

 

India Stock Movers

HDFC Bank declined 5.7% to ₹1,582.25 after the largest private sector bank reported a weaker-than-expected quarterly profit.

Net income in the December quarter rose 34% to ₹16,373 crore, and net interest margin jumped 24% to ₹28,471 crore, missing the market estimate.

L&T Technology Service said consolidated operating revenue increased 12% to 2,422 crore and net income advanced to 336 crore from 297 crore a year ago.

ICICI Securities declined 2.5% to ₹764.95 after the brokerage firm reported quarterly results.

Revenue in the December quarter rose 50% to ₹1,322 crore, and net income soared 67% to ₹465 crore from a year ago, respectively.

TV18 Broadcast jumped 8.8% to ₹66.10 after the company swung to net profit in the latest quarter after the company stepped up investment in digital and sports channels.

Consolidated revenue in the December quarter decreased 5.2% to ₹1,676.19 crore, and the company suffered a loss of ₹55.83 crore compared to a profit of ₹37.81 crore a year ago.