Mumbai, March 12 – Benchmark equity indices ended with sharp declines on Thursday, with the Sensex falling by over 800 points amid a surge in crude oil prices due to the escalating crisis in West Asia.
Besides, sluggish global market trends, weakness in the rupee, and persistent foreign capital outflows also impacted investor sentiment, analysts said.
In a volatile session, the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged by 829.29 points, or 1.08 per cent, to close at 76,034.42. During the day, it fell by 992.53 points, or 1.29 per cent, to 75,871.18.
A total of 2,516 stocks declined, while 1,713 advanced and 175 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Similarly, the 50-share NSE Nifty fell by 227.70 points, or 0.95 per cent, to close at 23,639.15.
"Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to dampen global risk appetite, as fresh attacks on oil-shipping vessels have pushed crude prices closer to USD 100 per barrel, intensifying concerns over inflation and gas supply constraints," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.
"The market is witnessing broad-based consolidation, although selective buying has emerged in renewable and utility stocks. In the near term, sustained risk-off sentiment and ongoing FII outflows are likely to keep both equities and the rupee under pressure," he added.
However, the premium valuation of India has narrowed during the year, making it highly investable for a long-term investor, thus reducing the downside risk, he stated.
Mahindra & Mahindra was the biggest loser among the Sensex constituents, falling by 4.23 per cent, followed by Maruti, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, UltraTech Cement, and Trent.
In contrast, NTPC, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, and Reliance Industries were the winners.
The BSE smallcap select index declined by 0.65 per cent, and the midcap select index dipped by 0.55 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, auto tanked by 2.92 per cent, FMCG (1.62 per cent), consumer discretionary (1.59 per cent), realty (1.53 per cent), private banks index (1.45 per cent), and top 10 banks (1.29 per cent).
On the other hand, utilities jumped by 3.31 per cent, power (2.51 per cent), energy (1.06 per cent), capital goods (0.55 per cent), oil & gas (0.52 per cent), and metal (0.45 per cent).
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped by 4.78 per cent to USD 96.47 per barrel.
"The lack of de-escalation signs in Middle East geopolitical tensions continued to unsettle global markets and push crude oil prices higher," said Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.
"Oil prices have surged again after the recent dip and are hovering around the USD 97 mark, raising concerns over inflationary pressures, currency weakness, and the potential impact on India’s trade balance," he added.
Meanwhile, retail inflation in the country moved up to 3.21 per cent in February compared to 2.74 per cent in the preceding month, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) released on Thursday.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225, Shanghai's SSE Composite index, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended lower.
European markets were quoting in negative territory.
The US market ended mostly lower on Wednesday.
The rupee recovered from record-low levels and settled with a loss of 16 paise at 92.17 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 6,267.31 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DII) bought stocks worth Rs 4,965.53 crore.
On Wednesday, the Sensex tumbled by 1,342.27 points or 1.72 per cent to settle at 76,863.71. The Nifty tanked by 394.75 points or 1.63 per cent to end at 23,866.85.
