Sensex tumbles over 571 pts as oil price boils
MUMBAI: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty pared their early gains to close nearly 1 per cent lower on Monday as surging oil prices played spoilsport amid prolonged RussiaUkraine war.
The 30-share Sensex plunged by 571.44 points or 0.99% to settle at 57,292.49. During the day, it tanked 634.85 points or 1.09% to 57,229.08.
The broader NSE Nifty declined by 169.45 points or 0.98% to finish at 17,117.60.
Among Sensex constituents, Power Grid, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, Nestle, Hindustan Unilever Limited and HCL Technologies were among the major laggards.
In contrast, Sun Pharmaceutical, HDFC Bank, Maruti, Titan and NTPC were the only gainers.
“With no significant improvement in the tensions between Russia and Ukraine and uncertainty in the Gulf region, crude prices surged leading to a sell-off in the domestic market after the recent rally. FII’s coming back to buying mode is a positive for domestic equities but a rise in bulk diesel prices and inflationary pressure are bending the domestic market,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.
On Thursday, the BSE benchmark rallied 1,047.28 points or 1.84% to finish at 57,863.93. Likewise, the broader Nifty surged 311.70 points or 1.84% to 17,287.05.
Equity markets were closed on Friday on account of Holi.
In Asian trade, Shanghai ended marginally higher while Hong Kong went lower. Tokyo was closed for a holiday.
Stock exchanges in the US closed with significant gains on Friday. Wall Street futures were lower after the benchmark S&P 500 index rose Friday as markets appeared to welcome the Federal Reserve’s attempt to fight surging inflation by raising its key interest rate.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 3.53% to $111.5 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers as they bought shares worth ₹2,800.14 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Investors watched efforts to mediate a settlement to Russia’s attack, which has pushed up oil prices.