Sensex down over 150 points amid US-Iran tension; what analysts say

The benchmark equity indices ended lower as global equities turned negative after the US killed a top Iranian general, triggering fears of a conflict in the oil-rich Middle East region. A mild recovery was seen in the last hour but the market ends in red territory as Sensex ended more than 300 points off record high. Sensex ended 162.03 points lower at 41,464.61, while Nifty slipped 55.55 points to 12,226.65. In the previous session, the 30-share gauge ended 320.62 points, or 0.78 per cent, higher at 41,626.64. The closed 99.70 points, or 0.82 per cent, up at 12,282.20 — its new closing record. Asian Paints was the top loser in the Sensex pack, dropping 2.16 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, SBI, NTPC and Bajaj Finance. On the other hand, Sun Pharma, TCS, HCL Tech, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and Bharti Airtel rose up to 2.08 per cent. The investors moved away from risky assets after top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US strike in Iraq, news agency PTI reported citing unidentified traders.

“Bears try to pounce on back of the global development and push index lower. Market breadth was a tad negative but nothing alarming. Overall the trend continues to remain up and we continue to maintain our bullish stance and our tgt of 12,400-12,450 zone. near term, support is placed at 12,200 zone. Broadly we expect mid and small caps to outperform going ahead and metal space will continue to shine,” Amit Shah, Technical Research Analyst, Indiabulls Ventures said.

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Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 688.76 crore, and domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 63.95 crore on Thursday, data available with stock exchanges showed.