Markets bleed as crude spikes; Nifty drops 582 points, Sensex falls 1,862 points

The share markets in the country opened with a bloodbath on Monday as both benchmark indices declined sharply in the opening session amid a huge surge in crude oil prices and heavy selling across global markets.

The Nifty 50 index opened at 23,868.05 with a decline of -582.40 points or (-2.38 per cent), while the BSE Sensex opened at 77,056.75 with a decline of -1862.15 or -2.36 per cent, reflecting strong selling pressure across sectors.

The sharp fall in domestic equities comes as crude oil prices surged approximately 25 per cent on Monday to USD 116 per barrel amid the ongoing conflict in Asia, which has raised concerns over inflation and economic growth.

Market experts said the rise in crude prices could significantly impact the Indian economy, given the country's high dependence on imported oil.

Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert, told ANI, "Indian markets are seeing a huge cut in the stock futures represented by the Gift Nifty. The oil price hit to the Indian GDP, Current account deficit and inflation will be huge given that India meets more than 85 per cent of its crude oil requirements from imports."

He added that the surge in oil prices is likely to result in higher fuel prices domestically.

"We expect retail petrol and diesel price hikes. Cooking gas price was already hiked last week for both consumers and commercial users. Jet aviation fuel prices will also go up," Bagga said.

According to him, several sectors will face pressure due to rising oil prices.

"Sectors like paints, aviation, autos, tyres, chemicals and all downstream industries using oil derivatives will see further cuts. However given the liquidity squeeze today, anything that can be sold will be sold, so expect cuts in leading counters, even those not correlated to the oil price, including in gold and silver," he added.