Equity benchmark indices fell in early trade on Friday, extending their loss streak to the fifth day in a row, as growing tensions in the Middle East weighed heavily on investors’ sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex slid 672.53 points to 71,816.46. The NSE Nifty sank 218.2 points to 21,777.65.
Bajaj Auto, IOCL, Canara Bank, Samvardhana Motherson, Tata Motors, Berger Paints, Axis Bank, and BPCL were the top laggards.
Among the gainers were Avenue Supermarts, Grasim Industries, ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Lombard and ONGC.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong were all trading in the negative territory.
US markets closed mostly lower on Thursday.
Brent crude gained 2.27 percent to USD 89.09 per barrel.
According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold securities worth Rs 4,260.33 crore on Thursday.
Meanwhile, polling for the first phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha election began on Friday.
On Thursday, the BSE benchmark declined 454.69 points or 0.62 percent to 72,488.99, while the NSE Nifty tanked 152.05 points or 0.69 percent to 21,995.85.
