Mumbai, March 9 The benchmark stock market indices, Sensex and Nifty, fell by nearly 3% in the early trading on Monday, as soaring crude oil prices and a bearish trend in global equities weighed heavily on investors' sentiment.
In addition, relentless outflows of foreign funds also made investors nervous.
The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 2,345.89 points or 2.97%, to close at 76,573.01. The 50-share NSE Nifty fell 708.75 points or 2.89%, to close at 23,741.70.
All 30 Sensex-listed companies were trading in the red. InterGlobe Aviation saw a decline of nearly 8%. Tata Steel, Maruti, State Bank of India, Eternal, Asian Paints, and ICICI Bank were also among the major decliners.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 23.63% to $114.59 per barrel.
"Brent crude has surged above $115, delivering a significant shock to economies and markets. Major oil importers like India will be severely affected if the conflict in West Asia persists and crude prices remain high," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi tumbled over 7%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 6.5%. The Shanghai SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were also trading lower.
The US market closed lower on Friday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 6,030.38 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 6,971.51 crore in the previous trading session.
On Friday, the Sensex plunged 1,097 points or 1.37%, to close at 78,918.90. The Nifty fell 315.45 points or 1.27%, to end at 24,450.45.
Last week, the BSE benchmark declined 2,368.29 points or 2.91%, and the Nifty fell 728.2 points or 2.89%.
