SENSEX crashes 800 points, NIFTY50 below 23,850 as US, Iran tensions escalate

The Indian equity benchmarks nosedived on Wednesday, September 2, as investor sentiment remained bearish as escalating tensions between United States and Iran sent crude oil prices soaring over $96 per barrel for first time in over a month.

The SENSEX dropped as much as 808 points and NIFTY50 index crashed below its important psychological level of 23,850 to touch an intraday low of 23,807 on the back of a broad-based selling pressure.

As of 9:24 am, the SENSEX was down 760 points at 76,183 and NIFTY50 index tumbled 232 points to 23,823.

Markets across world were trading sharply lower after the US military said it carried out a wave of strikes against Iranian military targets, with Iranian media reporting explosions in Asaluyeh, Jiroft, Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island, Konarak, Chabahar, Jask, Sirik and Lavan.

Japan's Nikkei fell 2.9%, South Korea's KOSPI dropped 3.08%, China' Shanghai Composite index plunged 1.14% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index tumbled 1.35%.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8%, S&P 500 index declined 0.71% and tech heavy Nasdaq index dropped 1%.

Brent crude futures surged as much as 5.91% to hit an intraday high of $96.99 per barrel amid escalating tensions in West Asia.

President Donald Trump said that he is not trying to force Iran back to the negotiating table, dismissing reports that Washington is seeking a new agreement with Tehran.

Back home, selling pressure was broad-based as all the 15 major sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) were trading lower led by the NIFTY Auto index's over 2% fall. NIFTY Realty, Metal, Bank Financial Services, FMCG, IT, Consumer Durables and Oil & Gas indices also fell between 0.7% and 2%.

Broader markets were also facing selling pressure as NIFTY Midcap 100 index declined 1.23% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index declined 0.97%.

Eicher Motors was top loser in the NIFTY50 index, the stock fell 3.7% to ₹7,674 after sales of motorcycles above 350 cc declined 13% to 13,336 units in August from 15,371 units it sold in the same month last year.

Shriram Finance, InterGlobe Aviation, Mahindra & Mahindra, Grasim, Bajaj Auto, Eternal, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement and Infosys also fell between 1.5% and 2.5%.

On the flip side, Coal India surged over 4% after its subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields filed draft papers with the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO).

The proposed initial share sale is an offer for sale (OFS) of 661,836,300 shares by promoter Coal India Ltd, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP).

Since the issue is only an OFS, it will not get any proceeds from the issue. The money will go to selling shareholders.

ONGC, Adani Ports and Sun Pharma were also among the notable gainers in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth was extremely negative as 2,131 shares were declining while 858 were advancing on the NSE.