Mumbai, March 9 The Sensex and Nifty benchmark indices plunged by nearly 2% on Monday as soaring crude oil prices and weak global trends due to the worsening situation in the Middle East triggered a sharp sell-off in the stock market.
Besides, the continued exodus of foreign funds and the weakness of the rupee against the US dollar also weighed heavily on investors' sentiment, traders said.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 1,352.74 points, or 1.71%, to close at 77,566.16, registering its second day of decline. During the day, the benchmark crashed by 2,494.35 points, or 3.16%, to 76,424.55.
Similarly, the 50-share NSE Nifty dropped by 422.40 points, or 1.73%, to end at 24,028.05. Intra-day, it tumbled by 752.65 points, or 3.07%, to 23,697.80.
UltraTech Cement was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, falling by 5.23%, followed by Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, InterGlobe Aviation, and Adani Ports, which were among the major laggards.
In contrast, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and HCL Tech were the gainers.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped by 12.34% to USD 104.1 per barrel.
"Indian equity markets ended the session sharply lower after opening with a steep gap-down of nearly 3%, as weak global cues and the deepening conflict in the Middle East weighed heavily on investor sentiment," said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm.
"The escalation in geopolitical risks pushed crude oil prices above the USD 100 per barrel mark and drove the Indian rupee to a record low against the US dollar, amplifying concerns around inflation and external balances," he added.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi tumbled by 5.96%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped by 5.20%. Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index also closed in negative territory.
Markets in Europe were trading significantly lower in mid-session deals.
The US market ended sharply 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 trade.
On Friday, the Sensex tumbled 1,097 points or 1.37% to settle at 78,918.90. The Nifty dropped 315.45 points or 1.27% to end at 24,450.45.
Last week, the BSE benchmark tanked 2,368.29 points or 2.91%, and the Nifty declined 728.2 points or 2.89%.
