Stock Market Crash Highlights: The Indian stock market’s benchmark indices, the Sensex and Nifty 50, ended 1% lower on Thursday, March 12 dragged by auto, banks and NBFCs. This comes after an around 1.7% fall in the indices in the previous session.
The fall came on the back of weak global cues as a sharp rise in crude oil prices heightened inflation concerns and investors remained cautious amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran in the Middle East.
Sensex ended 829.29 points or 1.08% lower at 76,034.42 while Nifty fell 227.70 points or 0.95% to settle at 23,639.15. in intra-day deals, Sensex cracked as much as 992.53 points or 1.3% to its day’s low of 75,871.18 while the Nifty 50 fell 298.15 points or 1.25% to 23,556.30.
Investors’ wealth has fallen by a solid ₹14 lakh crore, as the overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms dropped to nearly ₹436 lakh crore from nearly ₹450 lakh crore on Friday.
US stock index futures declined on Thursday as crude oil prices surged toward $100 per barrel, heightening concerns about inflation and prompting traders to scale back expectations of near-term U.S. interest rate cuts.
In Europe, the STOXX 600 index slipped 0.5%, while futures linked to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 also dropped 0.5% each, signalling a weaker start for U.S. markets.
Globally, the MSCI All-World index edged down 0.3%. Data from prediction market platform Polymarket indicated that the probability of a U.S.–Iran ceasefire by March 31 had fallen to 26%, compared with 45% earlier this week.
Asian markets also traded lower. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 1.3%, while the MSCI Emerging Markets Index dropped 1.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.9%, whereas the Shanghai Composite remained largely unchanged.
Crude Oil Today
Oil prices surged to over $100 per barrel after Iraqi security officials said Iranian explosive-laden boats struck two fuel-oil tankers, amid broader supply disruptions stemming from the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. Officials also said oil ports had “completely stopped operations.”
Brent crude futures rose more than 10% at one point to highs of $101.59 per barrel, even after the International Energy Agency on Wednesday agreed to release a record 400 million barrels of oil from strategic stockpiles to combat the spike in crude prices.
Oil market volatility has continued to climb, with Iran saying the world should be ready for crude at $200 a barrel as its military attacked merchant ships on Wednesday, and vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dwindled to a trickle.
Gold, Silver rate today
Silver prices recovered on Thursday amid continuing uncertainty regarding the US-Iran war. However, a stronger dollar and fading hopes of near-term interest rate cuts continued to keep the gains capped. Gold prices also rebounded.
Silver prices jumped ₹8,500, or 3.2%, rising from the day’s low to a high of ₹2,74,665 per kg. The metal was also 2.3% higher compared with the previous close. Meanwhile, gold prices climbed ₹1,915, or 1.2%, from the day’s low to touch ₹1,62,991 per kg, marking a 0.7% gain from the previous session’s close.
In early deals, MCX silver rate fell 0.86% to ₹2,66,174 per kg while MCX gold price was down 0.4% to ₹1,61,081 per 10 grams.
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