Mumbai Mar 7 : Key benchmark indices opened in deep-red territory amid geopolitical uncertainties. The BSE Sensex benchmark plunged below the 53,000-mark for the first time in seven months.
At 09:16 IST, the Sensex was down 1,326.62 points or 2.44 per cent at 53007.19, and the Nifty was down 357.40 points or 2.20 per cent at 15888. About 561 shares have advanced, 1588 shares declined, and 121 shares are unchanged.
Except for Tata Steel, all other stocks on the BSE Sensex were in red in the early trade. ICICI Bank, Maruti, Bajaj Finance, L&T, and Asian Paints (down up to 5 per cent) were the top laggards in the Sensex pack. The losses were spread across the broader markets with the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices slipping 2.3 per cent each.
Sectorally, Nifty Bank, Auto and Realty indices cracked 4 per cent each. Nifty IT was down 1.6 per cent, while Nifty Metals was the only outlier in green, holding marginal gains. Among stocks, JK Cement was trading 5 per cent lower on the bourses. The company had announced its foray into paints business through a new subsidiary.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said: “Market is slipping into bearish territory. Investors have to be cautious. There is relative safety in energy due to high energy prices, metals due to high global prices and export segments due to resilient demand and rupee depreciation.”
Crude Oil Prices Soar
Crude oil prices soared to their highest since 2008 due to delays in the potential return of Iranian crude to global markets and as the United States and European allies consider banning imports of Russian oil. Brent rose $11.67, or 9.9 per cent, to $129.78 a barrel by 6:50 p.m. EST (2350 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $10.83, or 9.4 per cent, to $126.51, putting both contracts on track for their highest daily percentage gains since May 2020.