Benchmark stock market indices opened lower on Friday, as investor sentiment remained bearish owing to the Iran war involving US and Israel. However, IT stocks and heavyweight RIL gained in early trade.
The S&P BSE Sensex was down 368.75 points to 79,647.15, while the NSE Nifty50 lost 115.25 points to 24,650.65 as of 9:34 am.
Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said that as the war continues to rage and uncertainty looms large, markets will be influenced by the crude prices.
“It is important to understand that even though crude has spiked by about 16% since the war began this is not among the major spikes in crude compared to earlier geopolitical crises which impacted crude. This is a reflection of the potential huge supply of oil available in the global market,” he added.