Sensex Today | Stock Market View: Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services

With the ground war in Gaza intensifying, the uncertainty surrounding the West Asian crisis is at its peak. Now we don’t know how and when this war will end and what the consequences will be. Therefore, investors should continue with a cautious strategy.

It is important to understand that equity markets globally are being impacted more by the spike in US bond yields rather than the Israel-Hamas conflict. The US 10-year bond yield above 4.9% will continue to be a major headwind for stock markets, particularly for those in emerging markets. Sustained selling by FIIs is likely to continue weighing on markets.

The crash in Brent crude to $85 is a big positive for India. Aviation, paints and tyre stocks will respond positively to this news.

Investors may watch the trends in high quality large caps like Maruti, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, RIL, ITC and L&T, which have come out with good Q2 results. These companies have good earnings visibility and, therefore, will witness substantial institutional buying when normalcy returns.