Indian stock market indices Sensex and Nifty dropped sharply on opening on Wednesday, reacting to the international developments – the major escalation in the Iran-US conflict. While Sensex was down by nearly 700 points in the opening minute, Nifty plummeted 200 points.
In pre-opening trade, Sensex was at over 540 points down – at 76,397.24, while Nifty was down over 203 points – at 23,852.05.
Among the 30 Sensex firms, Only Sunpharma was in green in opening trade.
Oil prices have also surged to a near-six-week high after the US and Iran exchanged strikes overnight, intensifying the Middle East conflict and renewing concerns over inflation. Track Iran war LIVE updates
GIFT Nifty futures were at 24,033.5 points as of 7:38 am, signalling a negative start for the Nifty 50 index, which closed at 24,055.8 on Tuesday, according to data cited in a Reuters report.
Brent crude went up two per cent to $96.6 a barrel, triggering a drop in Asian markets and lifting global bond yields on worries of a near-term US rate hike, which could make emerging markets less attractive for global investors.
The President Donald Trump-led US administration said it had launched a series of airstrikes against targets in Iran overnight, prompting an Iranian response in a major conflict flare-up.
A prolonged disruption to energy flows through the region could keep oil prices elevated, sustain inflationary pressures and reinforce expectations of tighter global monetary conditions, weighing on risk assets, two analysts said.