Indian stock markets declined sharply on Friday as geopolitical tensions escalated.

Indian stock markets declined sharply on Friday as geopolitical tensions escalated. The Sensex fell over 600 points to 79,392 while Nifty50 dropped below 24,600, driven primarily by worsening US-Iran-Israel conflict. Banking and realty stocks led losses with ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Bajaj Finserv falling 2-3%. The rupee weakened to 91.65 against the dollar as investors fled to safe-haven assets. Global markets remained under pressure with European indices falling nearly 2% and Wall Street closing lower. Rising crude oil prices and elevated bond yields added to selling pressure. With no diplomatic resolution in sight for Middle East tensions, market volatility is expected to persist in coming sessions.