The Indian equity market remained volatile on Friday on heightened tensions in the Middle East and higher crude oil prices.
As of 11:03 AM IST, the Sensex was at 82,777.73, up 0.3%, while the Nifty 50 was at 25,314.95, up 0.3% from the previous close.
The markets remained volatile as both benchmarks had fallen earlier in the session.
Overnight, benchmark US indices also closed in the red after a volatile session.
According to CNBC TV18, foreign portfolio investors sold over $3 billion worth of Indian shares in the last three sessions.
Asia Pacific markets open steady
Meanwhile, most Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Friday, following overnight losses in the Wall Street on rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell nearly 1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 was 0.1% higher.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.8%, while the Kosdaq was up by 1.6% on Friday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.5%, while markets in China were shut until October 8.
M&M Financial Services dip nearly 6%
Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services’ stock dipped nearly 6% in early trade on Friday before recouping some of the losses. At the time of writing, the company’s shares were 3.8% down.
According to an exchange filing from Thursday, the company’s overall disbursements during the September quarter was down 1%.
ONGC, Maruti Suzuki among top gainers
The stock of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation rose 2.4% on Friday as higher crude oil prices boost the profitability of the Indian upstream company.
Oil prices have risen sharply this week after Iran attacked Israel on Tuesday.
Concerns over oil supply from the region have led to a significant risk premium to prices.
Shares of Maruti Suzuki rose 1.4% on Friday, while Wipro’s stock gained by 1.4%.
Among other top gainers were Infosys, Hindalco and SBI Life Insurance.
Downstream oil companies suffer
Shares of downstream oil marketing companies such as Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) were all in red on Friday.
Shares of both BPCL and HPCL plunged by more than 2% on Friday, while IOC’s stock dipped 1.3% from the previous close.
Higher crude oil prices tend to eat into the profitability of these companies as they import oil to refine and then sell petroleum products in India.
Nifty Bank sectoral index rises
Shares of most banks in the Nifty Bank rose on Friday even as other financial markets were in the red. The Nifty Bank index was 0.5% higher at 52,100.20 at the time of writing.
Shares of Bank of Baroda surged by nearly 3% on Friday, while Federal Bank’s stock gained 2% from the previous close.
Other top performers in the sector were Axis Bank, Canara Bank and SBI.
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