Stock Market Crash LIVE: The Indian stock market extended losses on Friday, March 13, following heavy selling in the global equities, as worries over the prolonged US-Iran war and the surge in crude oil prices continue to push investors away from risky assets.
Sensex crashed around 1560 points or 2% to its day’s low of 74,454.60 while Nifty also shed 527 points or 2.2% to intra-day low of 23,112.
Broader markets indices Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap also bled, down around 2.5% each. Among sectors, Nifty Metal, Auto and Bank led the losses in today’s deals.
The recent selloff in the Indian stock market has eroded over ₹10 lakh crore in investor wealth, with the total market capitalisation of firms listed on the BSE falling to ₹429.6 lakh crore on Friday from ₹440 lakh crore.
Asian markets declined in today’s deals, while the US stock market also ended with steep losses overnight. In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares eased 0.5%, on course for a 1.5% decline for the week. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.3%, while tech-heavy South Korean stocks slid nearly 2% and Taiwan equities fell 1%.
This comes after Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in his first public statements on Thursday, vowed Iran would keep fighting and continue to use the Strait of Hormuz – a crucial waterway for oil and gas transport which has been effectively closed with significant marine traffic disruptions – as leverage against the U.S. and Israel.
Crude Oil Prices Today
Global crude prices were trading marginally lower with oil hovering around $100 per barrel after the US Treasury Department announced a 30-day waiver allowing all countries to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea. The development comes a week after the US allowed India to buy Russian oil loaded on vessels as of 5 March, offering temporary relief to global supply concerns.
Brent crude was trading at $99.99 per barrel, down 0.47%, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 0.67% to $95.09 per barrel.
However, concerns over a prolonged conflict in West Asia and a potential blockade of the Strait of Hormuz prevented a sharper decline in prices.
Gold and Silver Rates Today
Gold and Silver rate slipped marginally on MCX on Friday as surging crude oil prices amid prolonged US-Iran war have reduced expectations for near-term U.S. interest rate cuts. Losses were capped on the back of a softer dollar.
MCX silver price declined 0.7% to ₹2,66,001 per kg while MCX gold price was down 0.3% at ₹1,59,764 per 10 grams.
Stay tuned to this segment for all the live updates on the stock market today.