Stock Market News: Sensex Declines More Than 500 Points, Nifty Falls To 24,718 Amid Rising Geopolitical Tensions

Share Market News: The stock market continued to trade under pressure for the third straight session on June 13. The Sensex closed lower by 573.38 points or 0.7 per cent at 81,118.6 and the Nifty 50 index ended at 24,718.6 down by 169.6 points or 0.68 per cent. The stocks declined amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East as Israel struck Iran’s nuclear facilities in the early hours of June 13. Earlier on June 12, US President Donald Trump also mentioned that the country is planning to withdraw its personnel from the Middle East. Rising crude oil prices and heightened demand for safe haven assets such as gold also contributed to the declines seen in the headline indices.

Adani Ports, ITC and SBI Lead Losers

Shares of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone led the losers among Nifty 50 stocks as it closed 2.27 per cent lower at Rs 1,406.1 apiece on the NSE. Other major losers included ITC, State Bank of India and Hindalco Industries as they closed lower by as much as 1.67 per cent. On the other hand Bharat Electronics Ltd, ONGC, Tech Mahindra and eight other stocks bucked the trend to close in the green. Bharat Electronics Ltd emerged as the top gainer among the Nifty 50 pack closing higher by 2 per cent.

Nifty Bank and Nifty Metal Decline

The Nifty Bank and Nifty Metal index declined the most among all sectoral indices as they ended lower by 0.99 per cent and 0.96 per cent. The Nifty IT and the Nifty Realty index emerged as the only sectoral indices which ended in the green closing with marginal gains. Broader market indices witnessed another day of selloffs with the Nifty SmallCap 100 and the Nifty MidCap 100 ending lower by as much as 0.49 per cent. The India VIX index gained 7.59 per cent at the close, amid high volatility caused by rising geopolitical conflict in the Middle East.

Global Markets on June 13

Wall Street indices ended flat with slight gains on June 12 as the DJIA, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite ended lower by as much as 0.38 per cent. Amid the increasing geopolitical tensions and the rising crude oil prices the Asian indices such as the Nikkei 225 traded lower by 0.9 per cent at the time of writing. On the other hand the Hang Seng, KOSPI, Shanghai Composite and the Straits Times traded lower by as much as 0.88 per cent at the time of writing.

Primary Market Action On June 13

The public issues of Oswal Pumps and Aten Papers & Foam opened for bidding. Oswal Pumps IPO is worth Rs 1,387.34 crore and consists of a combination of a fresh issuance of 1.45 crore shares amounting to Rs 890 crore along with an offer for sale of 81 lakh shares aggregating to Rs 497.34 crore. Aten Papers & Foam Ltd plans to raise Rs 31.68 crore via its public issue which comprises a fresh issue of 33 lakh shares

Market Cues

The current trading week has ended on a weak note for the stock market. In the upcoming week the market is expected to continue to factor in developments in the Middle East as the US plans to evacuate personnel from the Middle East.