Sensex Drops 942 Points; Nifty Ends Below 24,000
(RTTNews) - Indian shares tumbled on Monday, as heightened tensions in the Middle East along with anxiety ahead of this week's U.S. presidential election and the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision dented investors' appetite for risk.
Oil prices were up nearly 3 percent in European trade after OPEC+ agreed to push back its December production increase by at least a month, prioritizing price support over regaining market share.
There is some concern that rising crude prices could further stoke inflationary pressures and inflate India's import bill.
The benchmark S&P/BSE Sensex fell 941.88 points, or 1.18 percent, to 78,782.24, after having ended Samvat 2081's first trading session, called Muhurat Trading, on a positive note on Friday.
The broader NSE Nifty index ended down 309 points, or 1.27 percent, at 23,995.35 amid across-the-board selling.
The Sensex hit a low of 78,232.60 in early trade and the Nifty dipped to 23,816.15 in intraday trade on the back of unbated selling by foreign portfolio investors.
Among the prominent decliners, BPCL, Adani Ports, Bajaj Auto, Grasim and Hero MotoCorp lost 3-4 percent.