<p>Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty fell nearly 2 per cent in early Thursday trade, weighed down by escalating geopolitical tensions after US President <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> warned of intensified military action against Iran, pushing crude oil prices higher.</p><p>The 30-share <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/bse">BSE Sensex</a> dropped 1,433.72 points, or 1.96 per cent, to 71,700.60, while the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 445.70 points, or 1.97 per cent, to 22,233.70 during morning trade.</p><p>All Sensex constituents were in the red, with major losses seen in Sun Pharmaceutical, IndiGo, Adani Ports, Eternal, Larsen & Toubro, Asian Paints, NTPC, State Bank of India, Trent, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank and PowerGrid.</p><p>“Following President Trump’s statement that ‘we are going to hit Iran extremely hard in the next two to three weeks,’ market sentiment has turned negative again,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd, as quoted by <em>PTI</em>.</p><p>“Brent crude surged about 5 per cent to $105, while the US 10-year bond yield strengthened to 4.36 per cent, putting slight downward pressure on gold and silver prices,” he noted.</p>.'Will achieve goals very, very shortly': Trump says US will hit Iran 'extremely hard' for 2-3 weeks.<p>He added that elevated crude prices, a widening trade deficit, concerns over weakening remittances and continued FPI selling are collectively exerting pressure on the rupee, which remains on a declining trend despite RBI measures to curb dollar futures trades.</p><p>According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 8,331.15 crore on Wednesday, whereas Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) purchased shares worth Rs 7,171.80 crore.</p><p>Meanwhile, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 4.44 per cent higher at $105.65 per barrel.</p>
<p>Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty fell nearly 2 per cent in early Thursday trade, weighed down by escalating geopolitical tensions after US President <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> warned of intensified military action against Iran, pushing crude oil prices higher.</p><p>The 30-share <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/bse">BSE Sensex</a> dropped 1,433.72 points, or 1.96 per cent, to 71,700.60, while the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 445.70 points, or 1.97 per cent, to 22,233.70 during morning trade.</p><p>All Sensex constituents were in the red, with major losses seen in Sun Pharmaceutical, IndiGo, Adani Ports, Eternal, Larsen & Toubro, Asian Paints, NTPC, State Bank of India, Trent, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank and PowerGrid.</p><p>“Following President Trump’s statement that ‘we are going to hit Iran extremely hard in the next two to three weeks,’ market sentiment has turned negative again,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd, as quoted by <em>PTI</em>.</p><p>“Brent crude surged about 5 per cent to $105, while the US 10-year bond yield strengthened to 4.36 per cent, putting slight downward pressure on gold and silver prices,” he noted.</p>.'Will achieve goals very, very shortly': Trump says US will hit Iran 'extremely hard' for 2-3 weeks.<p>He added that elevated crude prices, a widening trade deficit, concerns over weakening remittances and continued FPI selling are collectively exerting pressure on the rupee, which remains on a declining trend despite RBI measures to curb dollar futures trades.</p><p>According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 8,331.15 crore on Wednesday, whereas Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) purchased shares worth Rs 7,171.80 crore.</p><p>Meanwhile, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 4.44 per cent higher at $105.65 per barrel.</p>
