Indian equity markets ended sharply lower on Wednesday amid heightened geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan. The benchmark Nifty 50 closed at 24,153.05, down 261.35 points or 1.07%, while the Sensex declined by 411.97 points to settle at 80,334.81. The broader markets also saw heavy selling, with the BSE Midcap index down 1.9% and the Smallcap index lower by 1%.
The slide comes after the Ministry of Defence confirmed that Indian military targets across 16 cities were attempted to be engaged by Pakistani drones and missiles, including locations such as Amritsar, Jammu, Srinagar, and Pathankot. These were intercepted and neutralised by India’s Integrated Counter UAS Grid and Air Defence systems, but debris recovered from the sites confirmed the attempted strikes.
The Rupee also weakened sharply, closing 88 paise lower at 85.71 per USD compared to Wednesday’s close of 84.83.
Top Nifty laggards included Shriram Finance, M&M, Hindalco Industries, and Adani Enterprises, while HCL Technologies, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan Company, Axis Bank, and Tech Mahindra stood out as the day’s gainers.
Sector-wise, all indices except IT and Media ended in the red, with Metal, Oil & Gas, Pharma, PSU Bank, Auto, Consumer Durables, and Realty shedding 1-2%.
India’s military response to Pakistan’s provocation has continued under Operation Sindoor, with the Ministry confirming that Indian forces struck air defence systems in Lahore in a proportionate retaliation. Sixteen civilian casualties, including five children and three women, were reported due to unprovoked Pakistani shelling across the LoC, the government added.
