Mumbai, March 23 The benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty plummeted on Monday, in line with a very weak trend in global markets, as the war in the Middle East showed no signs of slowing down.
Rising crude oil prices due to the war, which has entered its fourth week, relentless foreign fund outflows, and the weakness of the rupee have also made investors risk-averse.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 1,836.57 points, or 2.46 per cent, to close at 72,696.39. During the day, it plunged by 1,974.52 points, or 2.64 per cent, to 72,558.44.
The 50-share NSE Nifty fell by 601.85 points, or 2.60 per cent, to end at 22,512.65.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, Titan declined the most by 6.24 per cent. Trent, UltraTech Cement, Bharat Electronics, InterGlobe Aviation, Tata Steel, and HDFC Bank were also among the major laggards.
HCL Tech, Power Grid, Infosys, and Tech Mahindra were the winners.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose by 0.97 per cent to USD 113.3 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 sharply lower. The Kospi declined the most by 6.49 per cent.
Markets in Europe were trading with significant cuts. The US market ended significantly lower on Friday.
"Domestic markets witnessed a sharp decline, mirroring weakness across Asian markets amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and concerns over potential disruptions to global energy supplies. Investor sentiment turned cautious following Trump's 48-hour ultimatum to Iran on the Strait of Hormuz," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
Rising global bond yields signaled heightened inflation and fiscal concerns, while the rupee falling to a record low further put pressure on markets and triggered FII outflows, he added.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,518.39 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth Rs 5,706.23 crore. Foreign investors have pulled out Rs 88,180 crore (about USD 9.6 billion) from Indian equities so far this month.
On Friday, the Sensex climbed 325.72 points, or 0.44 per cent, to close at 74,532.96. The Nifty edged higher by 112.35 points, or 0.49 per cent, to end at 23,114.50.
