Mumbai, Mar 9 (PTI) Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty crashed over 3 per cent on Monday as boiling crude oil prices and a weak trend in global equities due to worsening situation in the Middle East dragged the stock markets sharply lower.
Besides, unabated foreign fund outflows also weighed heavily on investors’ sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex crashed 2,494.35 points or 3.16 per cent to 76,424.55. The 50-share NSE Nifty tumbled 752.65 points or 3.07 per cent to 23,697.80.
All the 30-Sensex firms were trading lower. State Bank of India, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Maruti, InterGlobe Aviation and Adani Ports were among the major laggards.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 17.06 per cent to USD 108.5 per barrel.
“Brent crude has spiked above $115 delivering a big oil shock to economies and markets. Big oil importers like India will be hit hard if the West Asian conflict lingers long and crude price remains high,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi tumbled over 6 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped nearly 5 per cent. Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also declined.
The US market ended lower on Friday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 6,030.38 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 6,971.51 crore in the previous trade.
On Friday, the Sensex tumbled 1,097 points or 1.37 per cent to settle at 78,918.90. The Nifty dropped 315.45 points or 1.27 per cent to end at 24,450.45.
Last week, the BSE benchmark tanked 2,368.29 points or 2.91 per cent, and the Nifty declined 728.2 points or 2.89 per cent. PTI SUM SUM DR DR
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