Mumbai

Benchmarkstock indices Sensex and Nifty extended their slide to a third straight session on Thursday, as surging crude oil prices amid escalating tensions in West Asia dampened investor sentiment.

A broad-based selloff, especially across FMCG, power and IT stocks, and weak global cues also kept domestic equities under pressure.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 460.30 points, or 0.62 per cent, to close at 73,249.39. During the day, the benchmark tumbled 704.58 points, or 0.95 per cent, to hit an intraday low of 73,005.11.

The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 123.70 points, or 0.54 per cent, to settle at 22,687.65. In the intraday session, the index plunged 256.5 points, or 1.12 per cent, to a low of 22,554.85. Among the Sensex constituents, Reliance Industries, Eternal, HDFC Bank, PowerGrid, Trent, Asian Paints, Infosys, ITC, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services and Larsen & Toubro were the major laggards.

Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharmaceuticals, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HCL Technologies and Bajaj Finserv were among the gainers. "Inflation concerns took centre stage today as renewed escalation in West Asia sent crude prices sharply higher," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd. Among BSE sectoral indices, FMCG declined the most by 1.63 per cent, followed by Insurance (1.44 per cent), Capital Goods (1.43 per cent), Focused IT (1.30 per cent), Housing Finance (1.23 per cent), IT (1.20 per cent), Power (1.06 per cent), Industrials (1.04 per cent), and Consumer Durables (0.97 per cent). The initial public offering (IPO) of Jio Platforms Ltd was subscribed 5.36 times after investors showed overwhelming interest on the second day of bidding on Thursday. A total of 2,965 stocks declined, while 1,388 advanced and 212 remained unchanged on the BSE. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 3 per cent to trade above USD 112 per barrel. Meanwhile, FIIs bought equities worth Rs 1,022.32 crore on Wednesday, while DIIs purchased shares worth Rs 1,614.32 crore.

Mumbai

Therupee slumped 44 paise to close at 94.82 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, weighed down by a negative trend in the domestic equity markets and surging crude oil prices.

According to forex analysts, the rupee began trading on a flat-to-lower trajectory due to sluggish domestic equities and surging crude oil prices.

Escalation of attacks by Yemeni Houthis on Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure deteriorated global market sentiment, they said, adding that softening of the dollar index and a decline in US Treasury yields cushioned the downside.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.47 against the dollar, then lost ground to touch an intra-day low of 94.94 and finally settled for the day at 94.82 (provisional), registering a decline of 44 paise over its previous close. On Wednesday, the rupee surged 53 paise to close at 94.38 against the dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.17 per cent at 101.60.

Forex traders said near-term dollar liquidity has improved following the Jio IPO, with potential structural inflows supported by hopes of a US trade agreement.

However, this stability remains vulnerable to renewed foreign portfolio outflows or a spike in crude oil prices near USD 120.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 3.23 per cent at USD 112.33 per barrel in futures trade.