MUMBAI: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled in early trade on Wednesday, tracking a bearish trend in Asian markets, as the conflict in West Asia widened, driving oil prices higher.
The 30-share BSE Sensex crashed 1,758.22 points or 2.19 per cent to 78,480.63 in early trade as the conflict continued to dent investors' sentiment. The 50-share NSE Nifty tanked 530.85 points or 2.13 per cent to 24,334.85.
From the Sensex pack, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, InterGlobe Aviation, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the biggest laggards.
Infosys, HCL Tech and Tata Consultancy Services were the gainers.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.87 per cent to USD 82.11 per barrel.
Asian markets were trading sharply lower. South Korea's Kospi tumbled over 10 per cent. Japan's Nikkei 225, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were also quoting significantly lower.
The US market ended in negative territory on Tuesday.
The conflict in West Asia intensified with Iran continuing to pound several Gulf countries in retaliation for the joint attack against it by Israel and the US. The US and Israel have also carried out fresh strikes on Iran.
"With the war escalating and crude oil rising, markets are going into a period of heightened uncertainty. Nobody knows how long this conflict will go on and what will be the extent of havoc it could wreck. From the perspective of India, which relies on imports for around 85% of oil requirements, the real concern is the potential inflation and its consequences on economic growth," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
From the market perspective, the impact of potentially widening trade deficit, depreciating currency, higher inflation and perhaps lower growth is the real issue, he added.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,295.64 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) however, bought stocks worth Rs 8,593.87 crore.
Equity markets were closed on Tuesday for Holi.
On Monday, the Sensex ended at 80,238.85, down 1,048.34 points or 1.29 per cent. The Nifty settled 312.95 points or 1.24 per cent down at 24,865.70.