The Indian benchmark indices crashed on Friday as the Sensex tumbled over 1,470 points to close trade at 74,563.92 and the Nifty declined over 488 points to settle at 23,151.10 at 3:30 PM.
In the 30-share BSE Sensex, among the top gainers were stocks like Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel and the laggards included ITC, Reliance, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints and Bajaj Finance.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Microcap 250 declined 2.91 per cent as voltility remained high. Sectorally, Nifty PSU Bank index tumbled 3.72 per cent.
Previously, during the early morning session, the BSE Sensex started the session near 75,450, plummeting close to 600 points, while the NSE Nifty50 rang the opening bell above 23,450, tanking more than 150 points, around 9:15 AM.
Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader, said the closure of the Strait of Hormuz would continue as a means of “pressuring enemy forces” in his first public statement since assuming office. The remarks heightened investor concerns about the trajectory of the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
Oil Prices Rise, Global Markets
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.49 per cent to USD 101 per barrel.
Equity markets across Asia were trading in negative territory. South Korea’s benchmark Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were all lower during the session.
Wall Street ended significantly lower on Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.78 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.56 per cent and the S&P 500 declined 1.52 per cent.
FIIs Sell, DIIs Step In As Buyers
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 7,049.87 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth Rs 7,449.77 crore.
