Mr Mitul Shah, Head Of Research at Reliance Securities.
Domestic equities closed lower after volatile session as geopolitical disturbances continue to throttle the markets. Nifty declined by 0.4%. Broader markets underperformed in comparison to main indices with Nifty Midcap and SmallCap decreasing by 1.3% and 2.9% respectively. All sectoral indices ended in red except Nifty Bank (+0.3%), Nifty Media declined the most at 2.8% followed by Nifty Metal (-2.2%) and Nifty PSU Banks (-1.4%).
US equities extended declines on Friday to close a second straight week in negative territory with geopolitical tensions intensifying to contribute to a further risk-off tone. Dow Jones dropped 1.9%, the S&P 500 fell 1.6% while Nasdaq closed lower by 1.8% for the week. The geopolitical pot is boiling. If that is no enough, the Fed's aggressive tone on rate hike is keeping market participants on the edge. The LIC's upcoming IPO - India's biggest ever public listing - continues to make waves. As the ball gets rolling with mega roadshows to connect with top-notch investors, the IDBI Bank stake sale comes up next on the Centre's check list. As the economy looks to get on to the running track, the ongoing disinvestment process will for sure come as a shot in the arm for the government.