Sensex tanks over 600 points: What's behind today's deline?
What's the story
India's benchmark equity indices fell sharply on Wednesday, mirroring the trend in global markets. The fall comes as crude oil prices hit a near-six-week high after US-Iran strikes intensified West Asia conflict and stoked inflation fears. At 9:40am, the Sensex was down by 618.22 points or 0.8% at 76,326.06 while the Nifty fell to 23,836.50, 219.30 points or 0.91% lower than yesterday's close.
Market influences
Brent crude oil prices rise amid West Asia tensions
Brent crude oil prices rose by 1% to over $95 a barrel, after hitting a near-six-week high earlier today amid West Asia tensions.
Meanwhile, global bond yields also rose on fears of an imminent US rate hike.
Higher US rates tend to make emerging markets less attractive for global investors, further impacting the Indian stock market negatively.
Global impact
Asian shares fall sharply
The global bond-market selloff and renewed US-Iran fighting have weighed on risk appetite, leading to a sharp fall in Asian equities.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell by 0.8% in early trade.
South Korea's Kospi plunged by 3% at the opening while Japan's Nikkei 225 sank by 2.2%.
These global developments have also contributed to the decline of India's benchmark equity indices today.