Stock Market Today 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 as much as 950.57 points or 1.25% to its day’s low of 75,083.85 while Nifty also shed 327.3 points or 1.4% to intra-day low of 23,311.85. Broader markets indices Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap were also trading around a percent lower.
Among sectors, Nifty Metal, Bank, Auto and IT led the losses in today’s deals.
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.