Stock market today (AI image)

Stock market crash today: Nifty50 and BSE Sensex crashed in opening trade on Wednesday on rising Middle East tensions and escalating US-Israel-Iran war. While Nifty50 went below 24,400, BSE Sensex was down over 1,600 points. At 9:16 AM, Nifty50 was trading at 24,380.45, down 485 points or 1.95%. BSE Sensex was at 78,594.94, down 1,644 points or 2.05%.Analysts have warned that a decisive breach below the 24,600 level on the benchmark index could open the door for a further decline toward 24,400.Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited says, “With the war escalating and crude rising, markets are going into a period of heightened uncertainty. Nobody knows how long this conflict will go on and what will be the extent of the havoc it could wreck. From the perspective of India, which relies on imports for around 85% of her oil requirements, the real concern is the potential inflation and its consequences on economic growth. From the market perspective, the impact of potentially widening trade deficit, depreciating currency, higher inflation and perhaps lower growth is the real issue. If this fear materialises, corporate earnings will be impacted. This is the fear in the market. This fear will materialise only if the war lingers for long. If it ends in, say 3 to 4 weeks, things will be back to normal. ““Experience tells us that panicking and getting out of the market during uncertain times like these is not the right thing to do. Markets have an uncanny ability to surprise and climb all walls of worries. So remain invested and wait patiently. Investors with a high risk appetite and long investment horizon can use this crisis to nibble at high quality stocks. Banking, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and defense themes will offer long-term buying opportunities.” The weakness in domestic equities mirrored global trends. US markets ended lower on Tuesday amid concerns over the duration of the Middle East conflict, although major indices recovered from their intraday lows. Selling was widespread across sectors, with materials emerging as the worst performer among the S&P 500 segments, while the Cboe Volatility Index moved higher, reflecting heightened uncertainty.Asian markets extended losses for a third consecutive session as oil prices inched up, with the conflict in Iran raising fears of renewed global inflationary pressures. The developments prompted traders to scale back expectations of imminent interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.In currency markets, the dollar climbed to a three month high in early Asian trade on Wednesday. Investors moved away from the euro as growing tensions in the Middle East intensified concerns over a prolonged surge in energy costs.Gold prices gained 1 per cent on Wednesday, recovering from a more than one week low in the previous session. The rise followed escalating US-Israeli air strikes against Iran, which boosted demand for safe haven assets amid rising geopolitical risks.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)