Boiling oil price scalds markets

Mumbai: BSE Sensex plunged 1,491 points, while NSE Nifty slumped below the 16,000-mark on Monday, mirroring a deep sell-off in world stocks after oil prices soared to multi-year highs amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, stoking fears of hyper-inflation and sluggish growth. A sharp drop in the rupee, which tumbled to an all-time low against the US dollar, and persistent foreign fund outflows added to the woes, traders said.

Extending its downtrend for the fourth straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex opened on a weak note and slumped 1,966.71 points or 3.61 per cent to 52,367.10 during the day. It managed to recover some lost ground to end at 52,842.75, down 1,491.06 points or 2.74 per cent. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty tanked 382.20 points or 2.35 per cent to finish at 15,863.15. Both the indices closed at over seven-month lows. In four days, the BSE benchmark has lost 3,404.53 points or 6.05 per cent.

"Oil prices surged above $130 a barrel for the first time since July 2008, following the risk of a US and European ban on Russia's oil export which accounts for about 10 per cent of global supply. As a result, the domestic market along with its global peers witnessed a huge sell-off from opening hours. Inflationary pressure is also witnessed in other commodities like gold, aluminium, copper, etc which will eventually eat away corporate profits in the coming quarters," said Vinod Nair, head (research) at Geojit Financial Services.

4th Consecutive Session In The Red

♦ Re fall, rising FII outflows further impact indices

♦ BSE Sensex slumped 1,966.71 pts (3.61%) to 52,367.10 during session

♦ Sensex recovered some lost ground to end at 52,842.75, down 1,491.06 pts

♦ NSE Nifty tanked 382.20 pts to 15,863.15

♦ Sensex lost 3,404.53pts (6.05%) in 4 sessions

♦ 26 scrips of Sensex pack in the red

♦ Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel and Infosys bucked the tred