Mumbai, March 11 (IANS) Indian benchmark equity indices ended sharply lower on Wednesday as a surge in global oil prices and rising geopolitical tensions weighed on investor sentiment.

At the losing bell, Sensex settled at 76,863.71, down 1.72 per cent or 1,342.27 points, while the 50-share Nifty ended at 23,866.85, plunging 394.75 points or 1.63 per cent. The decline was led by automobile, banking, real estate, IT, FMCG and consumer durables stocks such as Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Eicher Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank, which declined up to around 5 per cent.

Sectorally, Nifty Auto emerged as the worst-performing sector, falling 3.15 per cent to 25,926. The Nifty Bank declined more than 2 per cent to 55,735.75, while the Nifty Financial Services dropped 2.32 per cent and the Nifty Private Bank slipped 2.41 per cent.

Among other sectors, the Nifty IT declined 1.24 per cent, Nifty FMCG slipped 1.10 per cent, and Nifty Realty dropped 1.71 per cent.

However, some defensive sectors bucked the broader trend. Nifty Pharma rose 0.41 per cent, while healthcare gained 0.14 per cent. Energy stocks also saw mild gains, with Nifty Oil & Gas edging up 0.18 per cent.

Broader market indices also ended lower, mirroring weakness in frontline stocks. The Nifty Midcap 150 fell 1.25 per cent to 56,461.10, while the Nifty Midcap 100 declined 1.14 per cent to 20,839.35. The Nifty Smallcap 50 dropped 0.55 per cent, and the Nifty 100 fell 1.54 per cent.

Analysts attributed the sharp decline to rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and concerns over potential disruption in global energy supply.

“Indian equity markets opened cautiously but gradually slipped into a broad-based sell-off as concerns over escalating military activity in the Middle East and the possibility of disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz triggered a risk-off sentiment among investors,” according to experts.

The India VIX surged nearly 11 per cent during the session, reflecting heightened uncertainty and fragile investor sentiment.

Energy markets also remained in focus, with crude prices rising amid concerns over supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a key corridor for global oil trade.

According to analysts, markets are likely to remain volatile in the near term as investors track geopolitical developments, energy price movements and institutional fund flows.

–IANS

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