The equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty opened in the red on Thursday, extending the previous day’s losses as surging crude oil prices and fresh tensions between the United States and its major trading partners weighed heavily on investor sentiment.
The BSE Sensex fell 99.53 points to 75,871.18 in early trade, while the Nifty crashed 310.55 points to 23,556.30.
Within minutes of opening, the Nifty 50 was down 1.13 per cent at 23,596, and the Sensex slipped 1.23 per cent to 75,921.04, reflecting broad-based selling pressure across sectors.
According to the latest trends, all 16 major sectoral indices opened flat to negative, triggering uncertainty. The small-cap and mid-cap indices declined 1.5 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively. The rapid decline was primarily driven by crude oil prices crossing $100 per barrel amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The ongoing war in West Asia has triggered one of the worst energy crises in recent years across Asian economies, including South Korea, Japan, and India. The situation continues to worsen as neither side in the conflict shows a willingness to back down or end hostilities.
On Thursday, Iraqi security officials reported that Iranian forces struck two more oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, a day after the IRGC targeted three tankers in the same waterway.
Officials added that oil ports had “completely stopped operations", fuelling fears of a severe global supply crunch.
Higher crude prices typically exert significant pressure on oil-importing economies like India by driving up inflation and widening the country’s import bill.
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