The global financial landscape experienced a volatile day on October 4th, 2023, with a series of events impacting markets across the globe. From escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East to significant FII outflows, investors faced a day of uncertainty and losses.
The benchmark Sensex and Nifty 50 indices witnessed their worst weekly decline since June 2022, shedding nearly 4.5% each. This downturn was largely attributed to a sharp 2% drop on Thursday, October 4th. The broader small- and mid-cap markets, heavily focused on the domestic economy, also faced a challenging week, dropping by 2.5% and 3.2% respectively. Reliance Industries, a major player in the Nifty 50, suffered a significant 9.2% decline, leading the losses on the index during the week.
Heightened anxieties over the potential for a retaliatory strike from Israel against Iran’s oil facilities significantly impacted sentiment. The Nifty 50 closed 0.81% lower at 25,014 on Friday, adding to the week’s total decline of 4.45%, marking the index’s most substantial weekly drop since June 2022, when it fell by 5.61%.
Meanwhile, in India, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to lead a delegation to Pakistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit scheduled for October 15th and 16th in Islamabad. This marks the first high-level visit from India to Pakistan in approximately five years.
Adding to the day’s news, a technical fault in the German traffic control system disrupted operations at Frankfurt Airport, leading to potential flight delays. The technical issue, reported to have begun around 10 am, affected flights to and from the airport.
Amidst escalating tensions in the Middle East, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, delivered a rare sermon calling for unity among Muslim nations against Israel. The remarks, made in the wake of Iran’s retaliatory missile attack on Israel, urged nations from Afghanistan to Yemen to unite in defending against what he described as Israel’s ‘pretense of victory.’
