Sensex, Nifty tumble in early trade amid soaring tensions between India-Pakistan

‘Operation Sindoor’ visual being displayed on a screen outside the Bombay Stock Exchange building, in Mumbai, Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled in early trade on Friday (May 9, 2025) as tensions soared between India and Pakistan, fuelling fears of a wider conflict.

India on Thursday (May 8, 2025) night swiftly thwarted Pakistan’s fresh attempts to strike military sites with drones and missiles, including in Jammu and Pathankot, after foiling similar bids at 15 places in northern and western regions of the country, as tensions soared between the two countries amid fears of a wider conflict.

The Indian armed forces on May 7, 2025 had carried out precise missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan under ‘Operation Sindoor’.

Extending its previous day’s decline, the 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benchmark gauge tanked 424.65 points to 79,910.16 in early trade. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty declined 144.75 points to 24,129.05.

“Under normal circumstances, on a day like this, the market would have suffered deep cuts. But this is unlikely due to two reasons. One, the conflict, so far, has demonstrated India’s clear superiority in conventional warfare, and therefore, further escalation of the conflict will inflict huge damage to Pakistan. Two, the market is inherently resilient, supported by global and domestic macros. Weak dollar and potentially weakening the U.S. and Chinese economies are good for the Indian markets,” V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

From the Sensex firms, Power Grid, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finserv, Eternal, UltraTech Cement and Nestle were among the laggards.

Larsen & Toubro jumped more than 4% after the firm reported a 25% increase in consolidated Profit After Tax (PAT) to ₹5,497 crore for the quarter ended on March 31, 2025, supported by higher revenues and an exceptional gain.

Titan Company also climbed more than 4% after the Tata Group firm reported a 13% increase in its consolidated profit after tax at ₹871 crore in the March quarter, driven by robust sales.

Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Kotak Mahindra Bank and State Bank of India were also the gainers. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹2,007.96 crore on May 8, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were quoting lower while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index traded higher. The U.S. markets ended in the positive territory on Thursday (May 8, 2025.) Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.38% to $63.08 a barrel.

The BSE Sensex declined by 411.97 points or 0.51% to settle at 80,334.81 on Thursday (May 8, 2025). The Nifty ended lower by 140.60 points or 0.58% at 24,273.80.