Mumbai, March 12 – The benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty experienced a sharp decline in early trading on Thursday, as a significant increase in crude oil prices, driven by the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, weighed heavily on investor sentiment.
Furthermore, weak global market trends and continued foreign fund outflows also dampened sentiment, analysts said.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 992.53 points to 75,871.18 in early trading. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped by 310.55 points to 23,556.30.
Among the 30 companies in the Sensex, Eternal, InterGlobe Aviation, Mahindra & Mahindra, Adani Ports, Titan, and ICICI Bank were among the worst performers.
Tech Mahindra, NTPC, and Reliance Industries saw positive trading.
Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, rose by 8.98 per cent to USD 100.24 per barrel.
In Asian markets, the Kospi in South Korea, the Nikkei 225 in Japan, the SSE Composite index in Shanghai, and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong were all trading lower.
The US market ended mostly lower on Wednesday.
According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 6,267.31 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 4,965.53 crore.
"External headwinds have pushed the market into a weak zone. With the war continuing with no signs of easing and Brent crude again rising to USD 100 levels, the weakness is likely to persist," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
On Wednesday, the Sensex fell by 1,342.27 points or 1.72 per cent, closing at 76,863.71. The Nifty dropped by 394.75 points or 1.63 per cent, closing at 23,866.85.
