Indian Shares Slump On Geopolitical Tensions, Uncertainty Around AI

(RTTNews) - Indian shares tumbled on Friday, with key benchmark indexes falling more than 1 percent, as rising geopolitical tensions as well as AI-disruption worries spooked investors.

Investors reacted to rising oil prices as diplomatic efforts between the United States and Iran aimed at easing tensions over Tehran's nuclear program concluded on Thursday without an agreement.

The stakes have never been higher, but traders waited to see if a diplomatic breakthrough can avert a potential military conflict in the Middle East.

Escalation of the situation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border also weighed on markets.

Pakistan has declared an open war against Afghanistan, launching Operation Ghazab Lil Haq with extensive airstrikes against Taliban targets in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia amid fierce border clashes.

Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Asif alleged that the Taliban made Afghanistan a colony of India and said, "They gathered terrorists from all over the world in Afghanistan and started exporting terrorism."

Meanwhile, concerns regarding artificial-intelligence related layoffs and workforce disruption returned the fore once again after Block, led by Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey, announced its decision to lay off 40 percent of its workforce because of labor-saving artificial intelligence.

The benchmark BSE Sensex slumped 961.42 points, or 1.17 percent, to 81,287.19, with selling seen across the board.

The broader NSE Nifty index plummeted 317.90 points, or 1.25 percent, to 25,178.65 while the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes fell 1.1 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

The market breadth was weak on the BSE, with 2,521 shares falling while 1,666 shares advanced and 182 shares closed unchanged.

Among the prominent decliners, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Adani Ports, UltraTech Cement, Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Indigo, Bajaj FinServ, Bharti Airtel and Sun Pharma lost 2-3 percent.

IT stocks extended recent gains, with Infosys rising 0.8 percent and HCL Technologies adding 1.2 percent.