The Indian equity indices ended weak on May 8 as investors remained concern over escalating tensions between India and Pakistan after Indian forces neutralised air defence system in Lahore.
The US Federal Reserve chief's statement about rising inflation and labor market risks, impacting economic growth in the US, also weighed on investors sentiment.
The market opened flat with positive bias but erased all the gains in the initial hours and traded rangebound in most of the session. However, the last-hour profit booking dragged the Nifty and Sensex below 24,200 and 80,000, respectively. Meanwhile, buying at lower levels helped to erase some intraday losses.
At close, the Sensex was down 411.97 points or 0.51 percent at 80,334.81, and the Nifty was down 140.60 points or 0.58 percent at 24,273.80.
Biggest Nifty losers were Shriram Finance, Eternal, M&M, Tata Consumer, Adani Enterprises, while gainers included HCL Technologies, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan Company, Axis Bank, Coal India.
Except IT and Media, all other sectoral indices ended in the red with metal, oil & gas, pharma, PSU Bank, auto, consumer durables, realty down 1-2 percent.
The BSE midcap index shed 1.9 percent and smallcap index fell 1 percent.
Overnight, US stocks advanced in choppy trading, after Fed kept rates steady, stating risks of both higher inflation and unemployment had risen, further clouding the economic outlook as the Fed grapples with the impact of Trump's tariff policies.
More than 60 stocks on the BSE tested 52-week high including, KPR Mill, Ceat, Aster DM Healthcare, ICICI Bank, Bharti Hexacom, Marico, Navin Fluorine, Anupam Rasayan among others. Click to View More
Outlook for May 9
Aditya Gaggar Director of Progressive Shares
The markets experienced a volatile session marked with a lacklustre start and remained range-bound for most of the day. However, a sudden sharp decline was witnessed following the flash related to India-Pakistan tensions, triggering panic selling across sectors. This unexpected turn led the Index to close the day in red at 24,273.80 with a notable loss of 140.60 points.
Among the sectors, only IT and Media managed to end in the positive territory, while Realty and Metal tumbled the most. Midcap and Smallcap stocks were hit particularly hard, each falling over 1% and underperforming the Benchmark Index.
Despite the steep intraday decline, the Index continues to trade within its established range of 24,250-24,500, awaiting a decisive breakout on either side to provide clear market cues.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments
The Indian equity market experienced profit booking by the end of the trading day due to escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, marked by increased cross-border exchanges. The FOMC policy meeting provided little reassurance, as the FED expressed concerns that aggressive U.S. tariffs could fuel inflation and raise unemployment. However, the global market remains stable and positive, buoyed by expectations of an imminent U.S. trade deal with the UK and preliminary indications of trade talks with China. Historically, the domestic volatility is expected to neutralize as cross border issue de-escalates.
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