Indian markets decline amid geopolitical jitters after Pahalgam attack

The Indian benchmark indices declined over 0.5% on Friday as investors remained cautious amid rising geopolitical tensions following the terror incident.At close, the Sensex was down 588.90 points or 0.74 percent at 79,212.53, and the Nifty was down 207.35 points or 0.86 percent at 24,039.35. About 682 shares advanced, 3138 shares declined, and 115 shares unchanged.
SBI Life Insurance, Infosys, TCS, Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank were the top gainers on the Nifty while losers included 2.5 percent each.
Axis Bank, Adani Enterprises, Shriram Finance, Adani Ports, Trent.On the sectoral front,except IT, all other indices ended in the red with media, metal, PSU, telecom, power, oil & gas, realty down 2-3 percent.BSE Midcap and smallcap indices shed 2.5 percent each.
Market This Week
●Market posts gains of nearly 1% for the week, up for 2nd straight week,
●Fall seen on Thursday & Friday brings the weekly gains lower,
●Nifty Bank gains 0.7% & Midcap index nearly 2% for the week
Rupee Close:
On 25 April'25,the Indian rupee pared its initial gains and settled for the day lower by 7 paise at 85.40 against the US dollar on Friday, amid heightened geopolitical tensions and a negative trend in the domestic markets. Forex traders reportedly stated  escalated geopolitical tensions, following a terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir weighed on market sentiment. Moreover, a muted trend in domestic equities and positive US dollar index dented investors' sentiment further.
Trading Guide:
Market experts recommended six shares to buy -NMDC, Jyoti Structures, Lloyds Engineering, Suzlon, Dhani Services, and Dela Corp.

(Business Correspondent)