Mumbai, Mar 9 : Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty nosedived nearly 2 per cent on Monday as soaring crude oil prices and weak global trends due to the worsening situation in West Asia triggered a sharp sell-off in the stock market. Besides, unabated foreign fund exodus and the weakness in the rupee against the US dollar weighed heavily on investors' sentiment, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 1,352.74 points, or 1.71 per cent, to settle at 77,566.16, registering its second day of decline. During the day, the benchmark crashed 2,494.35 points, or 3.16 per cent, to 76,424.55. On similar lines, the 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 422.40 points, or 1.73 per cent, to end at 24,028.05. Intra-day, it tumbled 752.65 points, or 3.07 per cent, to 23,697.80.

UltraTech Cement was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, tumbling 5.23 per cent, followed by Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, InterGlobe Aviation, and Adani Ports were among the major laggards. In contrast, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and HCL Tech were the gainers. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 12.34 per cent to USD 104.1 per barrel. "Indian equity markets ended the session sharply lower after opening with a steep gap-down of nearly 3 per cent, as weak global cues and the deepening conflict in the Middle East weighed heavily on investor sentiment. 

"The escalation in geopolitical risks pushed crude oil prices above the USD 100 per barrel mark and drove the Indian rupee to a record low against the US dollar, amplifying concerns around inflation and external balances," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said. In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi tumbled 5.96 per cent, and Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 5.20 per cent. Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index also closed in negative territory.

Markets in Europe were trading significantly lower in mid-session deals. The US market ended sharply lower on Friday. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 6,030.38 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 6,971.51 crore in the previous trade. On Friday, the Sensex tumbled 1,097 points or 1.37 per cent to settle at 78,918.90. The Nifty dropped 315.45 points or 1.27 per cent to end at 24,450.45. Last week, the BSE benchmark tanked 2,368.29 points or 2.91 per cent, and the Nifty declined 728.2 points or 2.89 per cent.

/Agencies