Indian Shares Extend Slump As Middle East Conflict Widens

(RTTNews) - Indian shares were deep in the red on Wednesday as a broadening Middle East conflict threatened global fuel trade, sending oil prices soaring and fueling inflation and interest-rate worries.

The benchmark BSE Sensex was down 1,510 points, or 1.9 percent, at 78,728 in early trade while the broader NSE Nifty index plummeted 452 points, or 1.8 percent, to 24,413.

Selling was seen across the board, with Bajaj Finance, Bajaj FinServ, Titan Company, UltraTech Cement, IndiGo and Tata Steel falling 3-5 percent.

Shares of gas companies such as Indraprastha Gas, Mahanagar Gas, GAIL and Petronet LNG plummeted 4-10 percent after Qatar, India's largest supplier of imported natural gas, has declared force majeure on deliveries following a drone attack. State-run oil marketing companies like BPCL, HPCL and IOC all slumped around 4 percent as crude prices surged to multi-year highs on signs the war in Iran is expanding into a broader regional conflict.

BLS International KRBL, VA Tech Wabag and Larsen & Toubro lost 3-7 percent on concerns about their exposure to the Middle East.

JSW Infrastructure fell 2.3 percent after announcing damage to one of its fifteen storage tanks at Fujairah Liquid Terminal.

IT stocks traded higher, with Infosys gaining 1.4 percent after expanding its strategic collaboration with chip giant Intel.