GIFT Nifty futures, an early indicator of the headline Nifty 50 index, were down 304 points, or 1.3 per cent, at 23,885 at the last count in the early hours of Friday, as India continued its retaliatory action across major cities in Pakistan following the neighbouring country’s failed attempts to target bordering regions on the Indian side, including UT Jammu and Kashmir. The contract is tracked widely for predicting the nature of trade in the coming session on Dalal Street, though readings closer to the opening bell tend to offer a clearer scenario. According to analysts, the GIFT Nifty reading might change significantly closer to the opening bell followed by Friday’s opening bell on the Street.
So far, Dalal Street has staged a limited reaction to the evolving geopolitical situation, with market experts not ruling out the possibility of a stronger reaction in the next few days prior to the eruption of the war-like situation in the late hours on Thursday.
Here are key things to know about the market, as of 3:30 am on Friday:
On Thursday, the Sensex gave up 412 points, or 0.5 per cent, to end at 80,334.8 while the Nifty 50 settled with a loss of 140.6 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 24,273.8, as selling pressure in financial stocks outweighed buying interest in auto and select IT shares.
Except four stocks that registered mid gains, all Nifty50 components finished the day on a negative note. Shriram Finance, Eternal, M&M, Adani Enterprises, Hindalco, ONGC and Tata Consumer Products—declining around 3-4.5 per cent—were the top blue-chip losers in the 50-blue-chip basket.
Volatility index India VIX—also known as the fear gauge in market parlance—rose 10.2 per cent to 21.0 on Thursday. However, many analysts don’t consider it a direct indicator of market direction as it determines the expected volatility on either side over a given period of time.
