Indian benchmark indices declined on Monday as situation on the war front deteriorated on after Iran and Israel attacked each other.
Sensex, which opened 822 points or 1.1 percent lower at 73,421 points, further fell to around 74,318 points compared to the previous close of 74,243 points.
Nifty opened 1.2 percent lower at 23,080 points. The benchmark further declined by 1.2 percent to 23,070 points compared to the previous close of 23,416 points.
Out of the 3,098 stocks trading on the National Stock Exchange on Monday, 2,118 stocks declined while 891 advanced, showing the breadth of the sell-off in the market.
Among the biggest losers of the Nifty 50 lot, Wipro remained at the top with a decline of over 5.6 percent, followed by airline operator IndiGo which lost 2.4 percent.
Apart from Wipro, another information technology stock Tata Consultancy Services also lost 1.5 percent.
Automobile stocks, like Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, also declined.
Metal stocks like Hindalco, Tata Steel and JSW Steel remained among the losers.
Among the gainers, Max Healthcare remained at the top with a rise of over 2 percent, followed by Powergrid Corporation which jumped over 1.5 percent.
Pharma stocks like Dr Reddy’s and Sun Pharma were also among the gainers of Nifty 50.
Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Metal remained the biggest loser with a decline of 1.28 percent. It was followed by Nifty Auto which lost over 1.1 percent.
The fresh sell-off in the market was triggered by the renewed attacks between Iran and Israel.
According to Aljazeera, while Iran launched a wave of missiles at northern Israel, accusing Israel of repeated violations of the ceasefire with its attacks on Lebanon, Israel retaliated with attacks on Iran’s capital, Tehran, and the cities of Tabriz and Isfahan.
The attacks have led to a jump in crude oil prices by 3.7 percent to over $96 per barrel, pressuring rupee and prompting foreign portfolio investors to offload Indian equities.
