Mumbai (Maharashtra), March 19 (ANI): The domestic share markets witnessed a bloodbath with a sharp sell-off in the opening session on Thursday, amid the latest attacks on energy infrastructure in West Asia that have triggered fears of an energy crisis.

The benchmark indices opened deep in the red, with the NIFTY 50 index starting the session at 23,197.75, down by 580.05 points or 2.44 per cent. The BSE Sensex also plunged 1,953.21 points or 2.55 per cent to open at 74,750.92.

The steep fall comes after damage to energy infrastructure amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, which has raised uncertainty and alarm over potential disruptions in global energy supplies.

Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert, told ANI, 'The attack on the biggest gas production field of Iran yesterday and Iran's escalation into attacking the largest LNG production facility in the world based in Qatar has taken the Gulf War into a very dangerous turn. The US Fed held rates steady as Chairman Powell mentioned the word 'uncertainty' 7 times in his press conference. Powell spoke about the continued impact of tariffs and the incoming inflationary impulses due to the energy supply shortages created by the Iranian conflict. He was hawkish in his conference. Indian markets are poised to open in the red in consonance with the global markets.'

Sectoral indices reflected broad-based selling pressure, with the Nifty Financial Services sector declining 2.87 per cent, while Nifty Private Bank dropped 3.41 per cent. Nifty Auto fell 2.03 per cent, Nifty FMCG slipped 1.10 per cent, and Nifty IT declined 1.41 per cent. Nifty Metal was down by 2 per cent, while Nifty Media saw a relatively smaller fall of 0.84 per cent.

Global cues further dampened investor sentiment. Brent crude was trading at USD 112 in the morning, reflecting concerns of prolonged supply disruptions due to infrastructure attacks.

In commodity markets, gold prices were on a downward trend, with 24 karat gold priced at Rs 1,52,026 per 10 grams. Silver prices also declined to Rs 2,44,756 per kilogram.

Asian markets mirrored the global downturn in early Thursday trade. Japan's Nikkei 225 index declined 2.18 per cent to 53,787 levels, Singapore's Straits Times slipped 0.47 per cent to 4,978, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.68 per cent to 25,587, Taiwan's weighted index dropped 1.17 per cent to 33,946, while South Korea's KOSPI index declined 1.55 per cent to 5,836.

US markets had already set a negative tone overnight. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones index tanked 1.63 per cent to 46,225, the S&P 500 fell 1.36 per cent to 6,624, and the Nasdaq declined 1.46 per cent to 22,152, indicating widespread selling pressure across global equities. (ANI)