MUMBAI: The sensex and Nifty opened sharply lower on Friday over Israel’s strikes in Iran, which in turn put crude oil prices on the boil. However, the two indices pared some losses through the session even as investors remained cautious.At close, the sensex was down 573 points or 0.7% at 81,119 points while Nifty was down 170 points or 0.7% at 24,719 points.According to a note from Bajaj Broking, leading indices on Friday extended their losing streak for the second session, weighed down by escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia and persistent global trade headwinds, which dented overall risk appetite. “The market witnessed a broad-based selloff, with all key sectoral indices ending in negative territory, while India VIX spiked, reflecting heightened volatility and investor anxiety.” The day’s session left investors poorer by about Rs 2.4 lakh crore with BSE’s market capitalisation now at Rs 447.2 lakh crore. The day’s selling was led by foreign funds with a net selling figure of Rs 1,264 crore. On the other hand, domestic funds were net buyers at Rs 3,041 crore.Gold climbs to Rs 1 lakh/10gm markThe escalating conflict sent gold prices rallying on Friday. In the international market, the price of the yellow metal was up about 2% in late evening trades while in the domestic market, on MCX, gold futures for all the three months—Aug, Oct and Dec—traded above the Rs 1-lakh/10gram mark.
