Markets Slide Sharply; Eternal, IndiGo Lead Losses as Selling Intensifies 

Mumbai, April 2: Indian stocks continue to slide on Thursday morning, with most Nifty 50 stocks swinging into the red as fear mounts over escalating geopolitical tensions and crude oil prices. Eternal plunged over 4% on heavy volume Thursday morning after opening at ₹230.95. The broadline retailer’s shares dropped to a low of ₹224.81 before trading at ₹225.30, down 4.74%, with over 1.95 crore shares changing hands. It is among the top most traded equities in the losers’ quadrant.

IndiGo is suffering through a similar morning session with the G-Clause company gap down opening at ₹4,070. Bears swept in quickly, pushing the airline stock to a low of ₹3,970. Shares of IndiGo currently trade at ₹4,007.10, down 4.15% on the previous close of ₹4,180.80.

Bank stocks

State Bank of India fell over 3% after opening at ₹1,000 on Thursday morning. SBIN touched below ₹1,000 almost immediately after opening and has since traded down to ₹980.75 — down 3.64% — as PSU bank stocks extend losses amid surging crude prices and geopolitical concerns. Larsen & Toubro opened at ₹3,539.30 and hit a high of ₹3,539.30 before trading lower at ₹3,480.50 down 3.52% on heavy buying interest, with nearly 9.55 lakh shares traded. Shriram Finance trades in the red after slipping over 3%. The non-banking financial company opened at ₹876 and dropped steadily to hit a low of ₹863.45. The stock currently trades at ₹871.30 down 3.25% on heavy trade volumes.

HCL Technologies and TCS have emerged unscathed from Thursday’s widespread sell-off. HCL Technologies opened at ₹1,347 and hit an intraday high at ₹1,363.60. It currently trades at ₹1,359.20 — up 0.35% — with over 6 lakh shares traded so far. TCS opened at ₹2,386, rose to ₹2,421.80 as a high and currently trades at ₹2,416.60, up 0.35% on the previous close of ₹2,406.40 with over 11 lakh shares traded.

Asian stocks had tumbled early Thursday morning, reacting sharply to US President Donald Trump’s speech on Wednesday night in which he endorsed the US-Israeli attack on Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani and vowed to retaliate against Iran “extremely hard” over the next few weeks. Trump also added that US may soon target Iran’s energy sector and oil production capabilities. This sent crude oil prices skyrocketing, with benchmark Brent crude futures settling above $106 per barrel overnight.

South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI fell 3.7% Thursday morning while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index declined 1.9% overnight. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, Taiwan Weighted and Jakarta Composite indexes each fell between 0.9% and 1.4%.