Mumbai, March 23 Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty plunged sharply in early trading on Monday as the Middle East conflict entered its fourth week, driving up crude oil prices.
A significant bearish trend in global equity markets and relentless foreign fund outflows also made investors nervous.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 1,555.62 points, or 2%, to 72,977.34 during the initial trading session. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped by 479.95 points, or 2%, to 22,634.55.
Among the 30 companies in the Sensex, Tata Steel, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finance, Bharat Electronics, Titan, and Adani Ports were among the biggest losers.
HCL Tech was the only gainer.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose by 0.62% to $112.9 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 were trading sharply lower. Kospi fell by nearly 6%.
The US market ended significantly lower on Friday.
"The weakness reflects a significant deterioration in global risk sentiment, as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate. Asian markets have opened in the red, with Japan's Nikkei declining by nearly 4.6% and South Korea's Kospi falling by over 6%, underscoring a broad-based risk-off move," said Hariprasad K, Research Analyst and Founder, Livelong Wealth.
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 rose by 325.72 points, or 0.44%, to settle at 74,532.96. The Nifty edged higher by 112.35 points, or 0.49%, to end at 23,114.50.
