Mumbai, March 13 (IANS) Indian equity markets ended sharply lower on Friday as rising tensions in the Middle East weighed on investor sentiment and triggered broad-based selling across sectors.

The benchmark indices, Nifty and Sensex, closed deep in the red as concerns over the prolonged US-Iran conflict intensified fears of a gas supply crunch and higher energy costs.

The Nifty declined 488.05 points, or 2.06 per cent, to settle at 23,151.10. Meanwhile, the Sensex dropped 1,470.50 points, or 1.93 per cent, ending the session at 74,563.92.

“On the downside, 23,100 now acts as an immediate support level and has emerged as a minor intra-day demand zone,” an analyst stated.

“On the upside, 23,450–23,500 has now turned into the immediate resistance zone, which also coincides with the earlier breakdown level,” according to the expert.

Only two stocks — Bharti Airtel and Hindustan Unilever — managed to stay in green on Sensex.

L&T, Tata Steel, SBI, Maruti Suzuki India and Axis Bank were among top losers on Sensex.

Market volatility also increased during the session. The India VIX, often referred to as the fear gauge of the market, jumped sharply by 6.32 per cent to 22.88 during the day and eventually settled 5.23 per cent higher at 22.65.

Broader markets also mirrored the weakness seen in the benchmarks. The Nifty Midcap 100 ended 2.62 per cent lower, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 slipped 2.52 per cent by the close.

Sectorally, metal stocks were among the worst hit, with the Nifty Metal plunging about 5 per cent.

The Nifty PSU Bank and the Nifty Media indices also underperformed the broader market.

Experts said that the sharp decline across indices reflected growing investor caution amid global geopolitical tensions and concerns about the potential impact on energy supplies and economic stability.

The Indian rupee weakened for the second consecutive week, settling at a fresh record low as a geopolitical worry weighed on the local currency.

“Spot USDINR maintains a bullish bias, with immediate resistance anticipated between 92.50–92.70 and a support at 92.05,” an analyst stated.

–IANS

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