Mumbai, March 4 The benchmark stock indices, Sensex and Nifty, plunged by more than 1 per cent on Wednesday, in line with a weak trend in Asian markets, as the conflict in West Asia intensified, driving up oil prices.
For the fourth consecutive session, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 1,122.66 points or 1.40 per cent, closing at 79,116.19. During the day, it dropped 1,795.65 points or 2.23 per cent to 78,443.20, but recovered some of the losses in the second half of the session.
The 50-share NSE Nifty fell by 385.20 points or 1.55 per cent, closing at 24,480.50, marking its third consecutive day of losses and recording the lowest closing level in the past six months. During the day, it dropped 560.3 points or 2.25 per cent to 24,305.40.
Among the Sensex stocks, Tata Steel fell by 6.76 per cent, followed by Larsen & Toubro (4.53 per cent). Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement, NTPC, InterGlobe Aviation, Bajaj Finserv, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were also among the laggards.
Bharti Airtel, Infosys, and Tech Mahindra were the gainers.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose by 3.08 per cent to USD 83.91 per barrel.
Asian markets ended with significant cuts. South Korea's Kospi fell by 12 per cent. Japan's Nikkei 225, Shanghai's SSE Composite index, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index also ended significantly lower.
European markets were trading in positive territory. The US market ended in negative territory on Tuesday.
The conflict in West Asia intensified, with Iran continuing to target several Gulf countries in retaliation for the joint attack against it by Israel and the US. The US and Israel have also launched fresh attacks on Iran.
According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 3,295.64 crore on Monday. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth Rs 8,593.87 crore.
Equity markets were closed on Tuesday for Holi.
On Monday, the Sensex closed at 80,238.85, down 1,048.34 points or 1.29 per cent. The Nifty settled 312.95 points or 1.24 per cent down at 24,865.70.
