The Indian share market witnessed a considerable downturn at the beginning of trading today, April 19th. During the initial trading hours, 21 out of 30 stocks in the Sensex were in the red, while 9 saw gains. The Sensex slipped by 597 points during early trading, starting the day’s business at 71891. Similarly, the Nifty also experienced a drop of 152 points during the opening, commencing trading at 21995 levels.
Anticipation of Market Decline
Expectations of a market downturn had been looming since the end of the week, with Friday, in particular, being marked for potential weakness. Market analysts had predicted weakness in the share market based on the performance of the Nifty. Additionally, weakness was observed in Asian share markets on Thursday, indicating a cautious sentiment among investors.
Thursday saw both the Nifty and BSE Sensex closing in the red, despite showing signs of growth during early trading. By the end of the day, the share market closed at levels not seen in the past four weeks.
Impact of Israel-Iran Conflict
On Friday, Israel conducted missile and drone strikes on several cities in Iran, escalating tensions in the region. Reports suggest that Iran’s nuclear facilities were also targeted in the attacks. Following this development, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) raised the alert level for all its military bases.