Markets: After plane crash, Boeing shares fall 8%; Sensex down over 800 points
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: On Thursday, the Indian bourses were already reeling with losses due to multiple reasons when reports emerged that Boeing share prices fell by 8 percent in American markets after the crash of their first Dreamliner.
According to the media reports, Boeing’s share prices fell 8 percent in premarket US trading, at USD 196.75, after an Air India 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft with 242 people onboard, headed for Gatwick Airport in the UK, crashed minutes after taking off from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and fell in a residential area nearby. Dozens were feared killed.
The fatal crash tarnished the Dreamliner jet’s safety record and could muddy Boeing’s efforts to rebuild trust related to safety and ramp up production under new Chief Executive Officer Kelly Orthberg, the reports said.
It was not immediately known what caused the crash. Boeing said in a statement it was aware of initial reports and was working to gather more information.
While battery issues once grounded the 787 planes—one of the most modern passenger aircraft in service—the widebody jets have never had a fatal crash until the Air India incident on Thursday.
Boeing, however, has faced years of scrutiny and delays over its narrowbody 737 MAX jets, which were grounded for years following two fatal crashes.
Shares of Spirit AeroSystems, a key supplier to Boeing, and GE Aerospace, which makes engines for the jet, also fell about 4 percent each.
GE Aerospace said in a post on X that it activated its emergency response team and will support the investigation, but did not specify if the Air India aircraft was equipped with its engines.
Even otherwise, the Indian stock market suffered significant losses across segments on Thursday. The Sensex fell nearly 1,000 points, and the Nifty 50 dropped below 24,850 during the session. But Senssex closed with a loss of 823 points, or 1 percent, at 81,691.98, while the Nifty 50 settled 253 points, or 1.01 percent, lower at 24,888.20. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices dropped 1.52 percent and 1.38 percent, respectively.
The overall market capitalisation of firms listed on the BSE dropped to nearly Rs. 449.6 lakh crore from about Rs. 455.6 lakh crore in the previous session, making investors poorer by Rs. 6 lakh crore in a single session.
Market experts attributed these losses to the rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, where the US is pulling out non-essential personnel amid speculations that Israel could attack Iran’s nuclear facilities and President Donald Trump’s announcement that America will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.
Another key reason is the continuing fragile trade between the US and China, although Trump has claimed it a success. But China has not officially confirmed it.
Thirdly, markets’ mounting concerns over global economic growth slowing down in the US due to Trump’s fluid tariff policy. The World Bank on Tuesday warned that US tariff policies will cause a slowdown in both the US and global economies.
The World Bank has revised its economic growth projections, now expecting a slowdown to 2.3 percent in 2025 (0.4 percentage points below the January forecast), 2.4 percent in 2026 (0.3 percentage points lower) and 2.6 percent in 2027.
Stretched valuations in the Indian stock market have also been one of the key reasons behind intermittent profit booking by both domestic retail and foreign investors.
With the domestic market lacking fresh positive triggers, stretched valuations are prompting caution among investors.
