Indian stock markets experienced a significant drop on Friday morning, with the index falling by 807 points, or 1.0%, to 79,528. This decline continues the downturn from the previous day, fueled by increasing tensions between India and Pakistan, which have negatively impacted market sentiment. The BSE Sensex reached a two-week low, with every sector suffering losses, particularly in financial services, technology, and communication sectors. Over the week, the index is poised for a 1.2% decrease, marking its first weekly drop in a month, driven by the withdrawal of foreign investments.
Despite this, positive developments on Wall Street and President Donald Trump's announcement of a framework for a trade deal with the United Kingdom offered some relief to investor sentiments. Furthermore, better-than-anticipated trade figures from China, with robust export growth in April, helped moderate the market's decline. In parallel, the Nifty 50 index declined by 1.1%, settling around 24,000, with significant losses recorded for companies like Power Grid (-2.9%), NTPC (-2.7%), UltraTech Cement (-2.4%), ICICI Bank (-2.3%), and Adani Ports (-1.8%).