Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on Friday as a surge in crude oil prices rattled investor sentiment amid rising geopolitical tensions linked to stalled US-Iran talks and disruption at the Strait of Hormuz.
The Sensex dropped 982.71 points, or 1.27 per cent, to close at 76,681.29, while the Nifty declined 275.10 points, or 1.14 per cent, to settle at 23,897.95.
The sell-off was largely driven by weakness in information technology stocks, which bore the brunt of the decline.
Shares of Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, and Tech Mahindra emerged as the top losers on the Nifty IT index, dragging the sector down by around 5 per cent.
Broader markets also mirrored the weak trend, with the Nifty MidCap and Nifty SmallCap indices falling 0.96 per cent and 0.87 per cent, respectively.
Among sectors, apart from IT, the Nifty Pharma and Nifty Media indices also ended in the red, adding to the overall market weakness.
However, the Nifty Metal index showed relative resilience, posting the smallest decline among sectoral indices.
Investor sentiment was dampened by a sharp rise in global crude oil prices. Brent crude surged above the $100 per barrel mark, with the April futures contract trading 2.07 per cent higher at $107.25 per barrel.
The spike in oil prices comes amid continued disruption in energy supplies due to the blockade at the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit chokepoint.
(IANS)
