The tension on the border between India and Pakistan following air strikes by Indian Air Force jets dragged down both the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Bombay Stock Exchange index S&P BSE Sensex was down over 200 points in early trading and later registered an intraday loss of 500 points, before making a partial recovery.
The National Stock Exchange’s NSE Nifty 50 Index fell as much as 1.05% to 10,765.55. Index heavyweights on the NSE took a beating, with Reliance Industries Ltd and Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd registering falls of over 2%.
The market favored sellers throughout the day, with stocks of realty firms and state-run banks among the worst hit.
After marking an intraday low down 500 points, the Sensex recovered and gained more than 200 points later in the day. The Nifty too made a recovery of over 80 points to again cross the 10,800 mark.
The Indian government confirmed that its air force had conducted air strikes on “terror camps” run by the Jaish-e-Muhammed terror group in Pakistan and claimed that many terrorists died in the attack. This comes nearly 12 days after a car bomb attack on a para-military forces convoy in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir on February 14.
The Pakistan army had earlier claimed that Indian jets crossed into its territory and “released a payload” after Pakistan scrambled its own jets, but stated that there were no casualties or damage.