Bloodbath on D-Street: SENSEX, NIFTY crash over 2% as Middle East conflict deepens; JSW Steel only gainer on SENSEX

The equity benchmark indices SENSEX and NIFTY tanked over 2% each, owing to a fall in heavyweights such as Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank.

Falling for the fourth day running, the BSE SENSEX tumbled 1,769.19 points, or 2.10%, to settle at 82,497.10. During the day, it plummeted 1,832.27 points, or 2.17%, to 82,434.02.

The NSE Nifty slumped 546.80 points, or 2.12%, to 25,250.10.

Continuous foreign fund outflows and rising crude oil prices were the other major drags, as per analysts.

JSW Steel emerged as the only gainer.

"The domestic market took a sharp downturn following Iran’s launch of ballistic missiles at Israel, sparking fears of retaliation and escalation in war,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

“New SEBI regulations for the F&O segment have raised concerns about reduced trading volumes in the broader market. Lastly, with attractive valuations in China, FIIs have redirected their funds, adding pressure on Indian stocks," Nair added.

In Asian markets, Hong Kong settled lower while Tokyo ended in the positive territory. Markets in mainland China will be closed for the rest of the week due to a holiday.

European markets were trading mostly lower. The US markets ended marginally higher on Wednesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹5,579.35 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.37% to $74.91 a barrel.

Equity markets were closed on Wednesday for Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti.