Mumbai: Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty fell for a third straight session on Thursday, weighed down by surging crude oil prices, geopolitical uncertainty and broad-based selling, even as the market recovered some ground from its opening lows.
At 2.20 pm, the Sensex was down 458.05 points, or 0.62%, at 73,251.64, while the Nifty fell 169.65 points, or 0.74%, to 22,641.70. Of the 3,598 stocks traded on the NSE, 952 advanced and 2,548 declined. As many as 403 stocks hit 52-week lows.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose nearly 2% to about $110.68 a barrel, near a five-month high, after fresh attacks in Saudi Arabia stoked supply fears. India imports most of its crude, so higher prices weigh on inflation, the rupee and company margins.
The rupee slipped 12 paise to 94.50 against the US dollar in early trade, pressured by weak domestic equities and costly crude.
Among the gainers, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Auto, Larsen & Toubro, Bharti Airtel and UltraTech Cement rose. Nestle India, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Coal India and HDFC Life were the biggest laggards.
Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 1,022.32 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 1,614.32 crore, exchange data showed.
Analysts attributed the slide to external headwinds. "Strong external headwinds in the form of elevated crude prices and high US bond yields are emboldening bears to build short positions," said V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd.
Asian markets were also weak, with South Korea's Kospi down 3.12% and Japan's Nikkei 225 down 1.94%. The IT sector had risen 2.9% on Wednesday.