Stock market falls over 2%, rupee at record low

The stock market continued its crash on Monday amid concerns surrounding the conflict in West Asia and surging energy prices.

The benchmark Sensex index had fallen by more than 1,800 points or 2.4% at closing. The Nifty had sunk 2.6%, or by more than 600 points.

With this, investors lost around Rs 15 lakh crore on Monday, NDTV reported.

Stock markets had begun to slide on March 2 after the conflict began.

Foreign investors have withdrawn $9.5 billion from the Indian stock market in the past three weeks, Reuters reported.

The India VIX index, which measures volatility in the market, spiked 15.3% on Monday.

Major Asian stock indices also continued their fall on Monday. As of 10.30 am Indian time, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 3.2%, South Korea’s Kospi had fallen 5.8%, Japan’s Nikkei 3.5% and China’s Shanghai Composite 2.3%.

Rupee slides

The Indian rupee ended at a record low of 93.9 against the United States dollar on Monday amid continued outflow of foreign funds and falling stocks, PTI reported. The Indian currency lost its value by around 41 paise since the close of Friday’s session.

Major Asian currencies were also down between 0.1% to 0.8%, according to Reuters, as the conflict entered its fourth week with no sign of supply disruptions easing.

South Korean currency Won sank to its lowest level against the United States dollar in 17 years on Monday amid volatility in the market, AFP reported. The value of the currency had fallen to 1,510 won against the dollar.

Global energy prices

Global oil prices have increased by more than 50% since the conflict began.

The benchmark Brent crude was trading at nearly $113 per barrel on Monday. The price was $78 per barrel on February 27, a day before the conflict started. Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterbody connecting the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, for most international commercial vessels since the conflict began. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

The benchmark US WTI crude was trading at nearly $100 per barrel.

International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol on Monday warned that the world could suffer its worst energy crisis in decades because of the conflict, France 24 reported.

He said that the world was losing 11 million barrels of oil per day, which was more than the two major oil shocks of the 1970s combined, in which five million barrels each had been lost per day.

The agency is consulting with ‌governments in Asia and Europe to release more stockpiled oil “if necessary”, Reuters quoted Birol as saying on Monday.

Follow top updates from the conflict in West Asia here.