Sensex, Nifty tumble in intra-day trade amid worsening tensions in Middle East

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled over 1 per cent in intra-day trade on Monday amid heightened tensions in the Middle East after the US bombed three major nuclear sites in Iran.

The 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 931.41 points, or 1.13 per cent, to 81,476.76. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 287.55 points, or 1.14 per cent, to 24,824.85.

The US bombed three major nuclear sites -- Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan -- in Iran, bringing itself into the Israel-Iran conflict.

"Even though the US bombing of Iran's three nuclear facilities has worsened the crisis in the West Asia, the impact on the market is likely to be limited. Even though the possibility of the closure of Hormuz Strait is a threat, it is important to understand that this has always been only a threat and the Strait had never been closed," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.

From the 30-Sensex firms, Infosys, HCL Tech, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, and Hindustan Unilever were the biggest laggards.

Trent, Bharat Electronics, Adani Ports, and Bajaj Finance were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 index were trading lower while Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng quoted higher.

US markets ended mostly lower on Friday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.78 per cent to USD 77.61 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 7,940.70 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

On Friday, the 30-share BSE Sensex surged 1,046.30 points, or 1.29 per cent, to settle at 82,408.17. The Nifty climbed 319.15 points, or 1.29 per cent, to 25,112.40.