Sensex, Nifty Plunge Amid West Asia Crisis

Mumbai, Mar 2 (PTI) Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty continued to trade with deep cuts during afternoon session on Monday tracking a sharp spike in crude oil prices amid escalating tensions in West Asia.

The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 2,743.46 points or 3.37 per cent to 78,543.73 in early trade. It later traded 1,633.23 points or 2.01 per cent lower at 79,653.96 during afternoon deals.

The 50-share NSE Nifty tumbled 533.55 points or 2.11 per cent to 24,645.10 during initial trading. The benchmark later quoted 505.35 points or 2.01 per cent down at 24,674.75.

From the Sensex pack, Larsen & Toubro, Adani Ports, InterGlobe Aviation, Maruti, Asian Paints and Reliance Industries were among the biggest laggards.

Bharat Electronics and Sun Pharma were the only gainers.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 9.43 per cent to USD 79.74 per barrel.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a coordinated US-Israeli airstrike on Tehran early Saturday, with the Iranian state media confirming the death on Sunday.


Iran began firing missiles at Israel and the Arab countries in the region in retaliation for the killing of its supreme leader.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index quoted lower, while Shanghai's SSE Composite index traded in positive territory.

The US market ended lower on Friday.

"The uncertainty related to the war in West Asia will loom large over the market in the near-term. The major risk from the market perspective is the energy risk arising from the surge in crude," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 7,536.36 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) however, bought stocks worth Rs 12,292.81 crore.

"For investors, the risk extends beyond energy. Prolonged regional instability could disrupt trade routes, strain supply chains and tighten global financial conditions if inflation expectations re-accelerate," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

On Friday, the Sensex tanked 961.42 points or 1.17 per cent to settle at 81,287.19. The Nifty tumbled 317.90 points or 1.25 per cent to end at 25,178.65. PTI SUM SUM ANU

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