Stock Exchanges | Storm on the bourses

Markets hate uncertainty, not war, they say. But when war is raging, markets do not remain immune to its blows. It was no different for the Indian bourses, with the BSE Sensex falling 11.6 per cent—from 82,249 points to 72,696— between February 28, when the US and Israel declared war on Iran, and March 23, when President Donald Trump announced a five-day withholding of strikes. Meanwhile, surging oil prices and major foreign portfolio investor (FPI) outflows saw Rs 48.29 lakh crore, or nearly 10.4 per cent of total investor wealth, disappear in the fog of war. The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies came down from Rs 463 lakh crore to Rs 415 lakh crore in this period.