Sensex crashes by 636 points as US, Iran escalate war threats

Mumbai (Maharashtra): Equity benchmark indices traded 1.5 per cent lower on Monday as the United States and Iran escalated their threats against each other the subsequent impact on global markets.

A day earlier, Iran it no longer considers itself bound by the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated with the United States and other world powers in the fallout from the killing of Gen Qassem Soleimani.

US President Donald Trump said he was prepared to strike in a disproportionate manner and attack more than 50 Iranian sites if Tehran retaliates against the killing of Soleimani.

At 12:30 pm on Monday, the BSE S&P Sensex was down by 636 points to 40,823 while the Nifty 50 edged lower by 194 points at 12,032.

All sectoral indices were in the red with Nifty PSU bank falling by 3.8 per cent, metal by 2.6 per cent, auto and realty by 2 per cent each.

Among stocks, Bajaj Finance crashed by 4.6 per cent to Rs 3,998.40 per share while Coal India fell by 3.9 per cent. State Bank of India slipped by 3.8 per cent, Yes Bank by 3.2 per cent, HDFC by 3.1 per cent and Zee Entertainment by 3.6 per cent.

Metal majors JSW Steel and Vedanta lost by 2.8 per cent each. However, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and Titan showed thin gains.

(ANI)