The Indian stock market on Thursday opened in red with Sensex falling as much as 1400 points in early trade after the United States (US) president Donald Trump said the US plans to launch fresh attacks on the country within the next two to three weeks. Banking stocks witnessed double hit as they also got impacted due to the Reserve Bank of India intensified its crackdown on speculative activity in the Indian rupee.
At the time of filing this report, the Nifty Bank index slid 2.6%, with the private banks and state-owned banks lost 2.1% and 3.2%.
The ongoing Middle East conflict is expected to dampen demand, growth, and margins for Indian banks. With geopolitical instability, foreign institutional investors are likely to remain cautious, leading to reduced liquidity and potential earnings pressure on the banking sector. HSBC has indicated a preference for private banks over state-run lenders amid these challenges.
Leading banks like Union Bank of India, IndusInd Bank, Canara Bank and State Bank of India (SBI), were trading 3.5%-3.8% lower. AU Small Finance Bank, Bank of Baroda and Federal Bank shares were also trading 4%, 3.9% and 3.8% lower, respectively.
On Wednesday, the RBI has barred the banks from offering rupee non-deliverable forwards to resident and non-resident clients saying the companies cannot re-book cancelled forex derivatives contracts.
RBI has intensified efforts to limit arbitrage opportunities and speculative bets that have been weighing on the rupee.
Brokerage firm HSBC has issued a warning sign for Indian banks and the broader BFSI sector, signalling the lower earnings potential. The regional instability could dampen demand, growth and margins going forward, it said.
The regional instability could dampen demand, growth and margins going forward, HSBC said signalling a clear top-down preference for private banks over state-run lenders and NBFCs.
At open, the Indian stock market crashed nearly 2% reacting to the US President Donald Trump’s statement saying the US plans to launch fresh attacks on the country within the next two to three weeks.