The stock market crashed 2% on Thursday with no end in sight for the conflict in West Asia.
The benchmark Sensex index had fallen more than 1,500 points or 2.1% as of 10.10 am. The Nifty had sunk nearly 500 points, or 2.1%.
Investors lost more than Rs 9 lakh crore in the first two hours of trade.
The stock market has fallen more than 10% since March 2, when the first session took place after the war broke out, amid concerns about surging energy prices and economic uncertainty.
The India VIX index, which measures volatility in the market, spiked 4.4% on Thursday.
Major Asian stock indices also continued their fall on Thursday. As of 9.25 am Indian time, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 1.1%, South Korea’s Kospi had crashed 3.9%, Japan’s Nikkei 2.2% and China’s Shanghai Composite 0.5%.
The Indian rupee
The value of the Indian rupee improved marginally on Thursday after the Reserve Bank of India imposed additional measures to curb speculative activity, Reuters reported.
The Indian rupee was trading at 93.2 against the United States dollar in early trade on Thursday amid a continued outflow of foreign funds and falling stocks. It had briefly fallen past a record low of 95 on Monday.
Energy prices
Global oil prices have increased by more than 50% since the conflict began. The price of benchmark Brent crude spiked by to nearly $106 per barrel on Thursday after US President Donald Trump’s address did not indicate an immediate end to the war.
The price was about $100 per barrel before the speech. Brent was trading at $78 per barrel on February 27, a day before the conflict started.
Trump said on Wednesday that while the US military’s core strategic objectives in Iran are nearing completion, it will hit the West Asian country “very hard” in the next two to three weeks.
The US WTI crude was trading at nearly $104 per barrel on Thursday.
Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz for most international commercial vessels since the conflict began. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.
Follow top updates from the conflict in West Asia here.
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