SENSEX plunges over 1,000 points, NIFTY50 below 23,900; Here are key things to know

The Indian equity benchmarks extended losses after staging a gap down opening on Monday, May 11, as crude oil prices surged after Iran sent its response to the latest US proposal to end the Iran war via Pakistani mediators on Sunday, but US President Donald Trump quickly rejected it in a social media post as “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” — the latest setback to efforts to resolve the standoff in the Persian Gulf that has throttled shipping and sent energy prices soaring.

The SENSEX dropped as much as 1,091 points and the NIFTY50 index touched an intraday low of 23,864 dragged down by losses in index heavyweights like HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, Titan, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra and Larsen & Toubro.

As of 9:56 am, the SENEX was down 1,052 points at 76,263 and NIFTY50 index dropped 305 points to 23,871.

Most of the Asian markets were trading lower after Brent Crude jumped above $104 per barrel after Iranian state television reported that Tehran rejected the US proposal as amounting to surrender, insisting instead on “war reparations by the US, full Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, an end to sanctions, and the release of seized Iranian assets, news agency AP reported.

Japan's Nikkei fell 0.31%, Hong Kong's declined 0.5% while China's Shanghai Composite 0.7% and South Korea's KOSPI index climbed 4.4%.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to revive work-from-home practices, cut fuel consumption and even avoid buying gold for weddings for one year to help the country save foreign exchange amid geopolitical tensions in West Asia.

Selling pressure was broad-based as all the major sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) were trading lower led by the NIFTY Consumer Durables index's over 3% gain. NIFTY Realty, Oil & Gas, Auto, Bank, Financial Services, Media, Metal, PSU Bank and Private Bank indices also dropped between 0.45% and 1.45%.

Broader markets were also facing the heat of selling pressure as NIFTY Midcap 100 index dropped 0.8% and NITY Smallcap 100 index declined 0.5%.

Titan was top loser in the NIFTY50 index, the stock dropped 6% to ₹4,245 after PM Modi urged citizens to avoid non-essential gold purchases for one year in order to reduce pressure on foreign exchange outflows and encouraged them to prioritise Made-in-India and locally manufactured products, including daily-use items such as shoes, bags, and accessories.

InterGlobe Aviation shares fell 3.12% to ₹4,382 after crude oil price jumped above $103 per barrel.

State Bank of India fell for a second straight session after its fourth quarter earnings failed to enthuse investors.

Eternal, Shriram Finance, Jio Financial Services, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Eicher Motors and Maruti Suzuki also fell between 1.3% and 2.6%.

On the flip side, Tata Consumer Products, Max Healthcare, SBI Life, NTPC, HCL Tech, Sun Pharma, Nestle India and Apollo Hospitals were among notable gainers in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth was negative as 2,181 shares were declining while 677 were advancing on the NSE.