Mumbai, March 6 The benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty in the Indian stock market plunged in early trading on Friday, following a day of relative calm amidst persistent geopolitical conflict in the Middle East and continued outflows of foreign funds.
Weakness in US equities and a subdued trend in Asian markets also dampened investor sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 572.43 points to 79,443.47 in early trading. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped by 178.75 points to 24,587.15.
Among the major decliners in the Sensex were ICICI Bank, InterGlobe Aviation, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Bank, UltraTech Cement, and Tata Steel.
Gainers included HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, and Bharat Electronics.
Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, fell by 1.17 per cent to $84.41 per barrel.
In Asian markets, the South Korean Kospi traded down by over 1 per cent, while the Japanese Nikkei 225, the Shanghai SSE Composite index, and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index were all higher.
The US market ended lower on Thursday.
"Persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to keep crude oil prices elevated, raising concerns about renewed global inflationary pressures and the possibility of tighter monetary policy conditions ahead," said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm.
According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 3,752.52 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 5,153.37 crore.
On Thursday, the Sensex rebounded 899.71 points or 1.14 per cent to close at 80,015.90, ending a four-day decline. The Nifty climbed 285.40 points or 1.17 per cent to close at 24,765.90, ending a three-day falling streak.
