Market yields to oil shock, Nifty plunges by 3.21 pc

Mumbai, Feb 24 (PTI) The bourses today succumbed to thepressure of surging crude oil prices in view of an escalatingviolence in Middle East shattering the benchmark CNX Nifty bya massive 3.21 per cent at the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

The 50-share index tumbled to a low of 5,242.50 beforeconcluding at 5,262.70, down 174.65 points, or 3.21 per cent,over its previous close.

Today being the expiry day and with no signs of endingMiddle East crises, the market opened on a highly bearishnote, amidst sell-off in global markets.

The volatility gradually picked up the momentum and thekey index started breaking all its support levels one-by-oneas investors resorted to across the board selling-spree.

The intense of selling was so high that all sectors fellunder its impact and there was not even a single pull-backattempt. Global jitters coinciding with the expiry of F&OFebruary series added further pressure to the market.

"Primary concerns of rising crude can add inflationarypressure forcing the Apex bank to take extreme steps, whichwill have a far reaching impact including growth," traderssaid.

Tata Motors, JP Associates, Sesa Goa, Reliance Capital,L&T, Reliance Infra, Jindal Steel, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank andHCL Tech were top loser from the Nifty.

Total turnover in the cash segment shot up to Rs 18,305crore from Rs 11,979 crore yesterday. A total of 8,706.80lakh shares changed hands in 73,00,279 trades. The marketcapitalisation stood at Rs 61,24,696 crore.