Sensex, Nifty Decline As Oil Prices Rally Amid Middle East Turmoil
(RTTNews) - Indian shares fell sharply on Wednesday after a huge explosion at a Gaza hospital derailed the diplomatic efforts led by the U.S. to mobilize support for "Israel's right to defend itself".
Palestinian and Israeli officials have blamed on each other for the blast, further stoking tensions and sending oil prices soaring.
After news of the explosion broke late on Tuesday, Jordan cancelled the summit that King Abdullah had planned to host for U.S. President Joe Biden, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas.
Both Brent and WTI contracts traded up over 3 percent in European trade as bullish inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute and improved China data added to lingering worries about potential disruptions to supplies.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex slumped 551.07 points, or 0.83 percent, to 65,877.02 as rallying oil prices revived investor concerns around inflation and interest rates.
The broader NSE Nifty index settled 140.40 points, or 0.71 percent, lower at 19,671.10.
Bajaj Finance lost 3 percent after reporting a smaller-than-expected rise in quarterly net profit.
Group firm Bajaj FinServ fell 1.9 percent while Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and NTPC all ended down over 1 percent.
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