Sensex tanks 334.04 pts to 41,130.57 in opening session; Nifty dips 96.55 pts to 12,130.10

MUMBAI: The benchmark S&P Sensex tanked nearly 334.04 points to 41,130.57 as the domestic markets opened on Monday, while Nifty dipped 96.55 pts to 12,130.10.

On Monday, the benchmark indices traded over half a per cent lower due to selling across the board on concerns over the flare-up in US-Iran tensions and the subsequent impact on the equity markets.

Shares of PowerGrid (down 2%), State Bank of India, Maruti Suzuki, Asian Paints (all down 2%) were among the top losers as the Sensex opened.

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On the other hand, Titan, HCL Tech, and TCS (all up 1%) were the top gainers.

All the Nifty sectoral indices except Nifty IT index were trading in the red. Nifty PSU Bank index, down 2 per cent, bled the most, followed by Nifty Auto, down 1.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, the oil prices shot more than 2% higher on Monday, with Brent rising above $70 per barrel after US President Donald Trump issued a threat to impose sanctions on Iraq amid escalating tensions with Iran in the Middle East.
Brent crude futures soared to a high of $70.27 a barrel at 0222 GMT, up $1.67, or 2.4%, from Friday`s settlement.

The US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $64.39 a barrel, up to $1.34, or 2.1%, after touching $64.44 earlier, the highest since April.

The gains extended Friday`s more-than-3% surge after a US airstrike in Iraq killed top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani on Friday. The killing has heightened concerns of a widening Middle East conflict that could disrupt oil supplies from a region that accounts for nearly half of the world`s oil production.