Markets extend fall as crude oil prices soar; NIFTY50 falls below 24,200 and SENSEX drops over 850 points

Benchmark indices closed in red for the second consecutive session with heavyweights like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries leading the losses. Besides, escalating tensions in West Asia have sparked caution among investors after Iran seized two cargo ships seeking to exit the Gulf via the vital global oil route and warned that the U.S. and Israel will not achieve their goals through bullying.

The tensions have fired up the global energy prices, with Brent crude trading above $104 a barrel. Besides, continuous foreign capital outflows weighed on trading sentiments. The foreign institutional investors were the net sellers on Wednesday’s session, offloading securities worth ₹2,078.36 crore.

The NIFTY50 closed over 205 points lower at 24,173 after trading between 24,134 and 24,310. The index breadth went in favour of declines as 34 stocks closed in red and 16 closed in green.

Among the gainers, Dr Reddy's (+8.8%), Cipla (+5.7%), Jio Financial (+4.9%, Adani Enterprises (+1.7%) and Coal India (+1.5%) were the top five gainers. While Trent (-4.3%), Shriram Finance (-3.3%), Tech Mahindra (-3.1%), Bajaj Finserv (-3.0%) and Infosys (-2.9%) were the top five losers. Besides these, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Reliance and M&M also contributed to the fall on Thursday.

Similarly, the SENSEX plunged 852 points to close at 77,664 or 1.09% lower after trading in the range of 77,574 and 78,178 on Thursday. The index saw 25 stocks closed in red and 5 in green.

On the NSE, the broader sentiment also remained bearish as 2,037 stocks closed in red vs 1,255 in green out of the 3,396 stocks that traded on Thursday. Despite the weak sentiment, 116 securities hit 52-week high levels and 25 hit 52-week low levels on Thursday.

Among the broader indices, NIFTY Midcap 100 index closed 0.4% lower and NIFTY Smallcap index closed 0.6% lower on Thursday, participating in the broader weak trend.