The Indian stock market remained flat on Wednesday as rising tensions with Pakistan made investors nervous. Gains in HDFC Bank helped reduce some of the pressure, while Bajaj Finance and other stocks saw losses.
The Nifty 50 dropped slightly by 0.05% to 24,324, and the BSE Sensex slipped 0.07% to 80,236.6 by mid-morning. Both indexes moved between small gains and losses in early trade.
“Right now, investors are more worried about tensions with Pakistan than U.S. tariffs,” said Anita Gandhi, head of institutional business at Arihant Capital Markets.
The tension rose after a deadly attack last week in Indian-occupied Kashmir, which killed 26 people. India blamed Pakistan, but Pakistan denied involvement and called for a neutral investigation. Following this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the military freedom to respond as they see fit.
This political uncertainty caused the Nifty volatility index to go up in five of the last six sessions. Out of 13 major sectors, six showed losses. Small- and mid-cap stocks also fell by 0.6% and 0.1% respectively.
Bajaj Finance dropped 5.4%, even though it reported higher profits. Experts pointed out that its pre-provision profit was weak and credit costs were high.
HDFC Bank rose 1%, which gave some support to the market overall.
IndusInd Bank lost 2.5% after its CEO resigned suddenly, following issues with how the company handled derivatives that impacted its finances.
Apparel company Trent also fell 3%. Even though its profits went up, analysts said slow same-store growth and high stock price made it less attractive.
On a positive note, Bharat Petroleum rose 2% after it posted a smaller-than-expected drop in profit.
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