How Did Equity Markets React In India and Pakistan — All You Need to Know

The equity markets in India and Pakistan witnessed heightened volatility amid Pahalgam terror attack and cross-border escalations. Though Indian markets remained resilient, reporting a modest decline, the share market in Pakistan tumbled, so much so that even trading activities were suspended for an hour.

Here’s how Indian markets reacted?

Following a day after the tragic terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people, i.e. on April 23, Indian equity markets reacted negatively. Sensex opened at 80116, and on May 8, it began at 80334.81.

In between this timeframe, Sensex closed at 79,212.53, down 588.90 points (0.74%), while Nifty slipped by 207.35 points (0.86%) to 24,039.35 on April 30. The volatility index (VIX) soared, highlighting dampening investor sentiments. On May 8, markets went through a further downturn amid reports of military tensions, including drone and missile attacks by India near Kashmir. Sensex fell by 411.97 points (0.51%), closing at 80,334.81, and the Nifty 50 declined by 140.60 points (0.58%) to 24,273.80. Indian rupee fell by 1%, denoting its worst-ever single-day decline in over two years.

Notably, shares of defence companies, including Bharat Electronics and Hindustan Aeronautics saw major gains as demand for defence-related products increased.

How did Pakistan's equity markets react?

On April 30, Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) reported a major decline. The KSE-100 index went down by 1,717.35 points (1.5%), settling at 113,154.83. The drop came on the back of cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan. Banking and financial stocks were the hardest hit, reflecting investor concerns over the deteriorating security situation.