Mumbai, March 13 The benchmark stock market indices, Sensex and Nifty, ended sharply lower on Friday, driven by escalating conflict in the Middle East and rising oil prices.
Furthermore, heavy selling in global markets, persistent outflows of foreign funds, and the weakening of the rupee also dampened investor sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 1,579.82 points, or 2%, to close at 74,454.60 during intra-day trading. The benchmark finally settled at 74,563.92, down 1,470.50 points, or 1.93%.
The 50-share NSE Nifty declined by 488.05 points, or 2.06%, to end at 23,151.10.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, SBI, Bharat Electronics, Maruti, and UltraTech Cement were among the top performers.
Hindustan Unilever and Bharti Airtel were the gainers.
Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, rose by 0.25% to $100.7 per barrel.
In Asian markets, South Korea's benchmark Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended lower.
European markets were trading in negative territory.
The US market ended sharply lower on Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite fell by 1.78%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 1.56%, and the S&P 500 plunged by 1.52%.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 7,049.87 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth Rs 7,449.77 crore.
On Thursday, the Sensex fell by 829.29 points, or 1.08%, to close at 76,034.42. Similarly, the Nifty declined by 227.70 points, or 0.95%, to close at 23,639.15.