West Asia tensions push key indices to two-week low

FIIs continue to withdraw, sell shares worth 3,268 crore

- VIVEK KUMAR M

THE INDIAN STOCK market indices fell on Monday, as the fear of geopolitical tension in West Asia saw investors, especially the foreign institutional players, withdrawing over ₹3,000 crore .

Both the Sensex and Nifty 50 fell more than 1% each to hit two-week lows. The Sensex closed 73,399.78 points while the Nifty fell to 22,272.50 points, respectively.

The fall in broader market was sharper as both BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap ended 1.5% lower. The fall wiped out 5.18 trillion from investors' wealth.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth ₹3,268 crore on Monday, while domestic institutional investors net bought equities worth ₹4,762.93 crore, according to provisional data. With this, FIIs have net sold shares worth ₹11,208 crore or over a $1 billion in last two trading sessions.

The escalation of conflict in the Middle East has raised concerns over potential increase in crude oil prices.