Sensex, Nifty fall in early trade as crude oil prices surge

Market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty edged lower in early deals Thursday due to surging crude oil prices amid the escalating tensions in West Asia.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 230.95 points to 76,521.02 during initial trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 57.15 points to 23,937.

From the Sensex pack, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, NTPC and Reliance Industries were among the laggards.

Trent and Eternal were the only gainers.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 2.27% to USD 96.20 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 819.20 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Investor sentiment remains fragile as escalating tensions in the Middle East fuel a fresh surge in global oil prices and weigh on risk appetite, Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth-tech firm, said.

"Markets were rattled after Yemen's Houthi rebels reportedly attacked two Saudi oil tankers, opening a new front in the regional conflict and raising fears of further disruptions to crude supplies," Ponmudi said.

In Asian markets, South Korea's KOSPI jumped 3.15%. Japan's Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng also traded higher, while Shanghai's SSE Composite was lower.

U.S. markets ended lower Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the Sensex fell 715.06 points, or 0.92%, to close at 76,755.05. The Nifty declined 191.45 points, or 0.79%, to end at 23,996.25.

(Source: PTI)