Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 9 (ANI): The share markets in the country opened with a bloodbath on Monday as both benchmark indices declined sharply in the opening session amid a huge surge in crude oil prices and heavy selling across global markets.

The Nifty 50 index opened at 23,868.05 with a decline of -582.40 points or (-2.38 per cent), while the BSE Sensex opened at 77,056.75 with a decline of -1862.15 or -2.36 per cent, reflecting strong selling pressure across sectors.

The sharp fall in domestic equities comes as crude oil prices surged approximately 25 per cent on Monday to USD 116 per barrel amid the ongoing conflict in Asia, which has raised concerns over inflation and economic growth.

Market experts said the rise in crude prices could significantly impact the Indian economy, given the country's high dependence on imported oil.

Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert, told ANI, 'Indian markets are seeing a huge cut in the stock futures represented by the Gift Nifty. The oil price hit to the Indian GDP, Current account deficit and inflation will be huge given that India meets more than 85 per cent of its crude oil requirements from imports.'

He added that the surge in oil prices is likely to result in higher fuel prices domestically.

'We expect retail petrol and diesel price hikes. Cooking gas price was already hiked last week for both consumers and commercial users. Jet aviation fuel prices will also go up,' Bagga said.

According to him, several sectors will face pressure due to rising oil prices.

'Sectors like paints, aviation, autos, tyres, chemicals and all downstream industries using oil derivatives will see further cuts. However given the liquidity squeeze today, anything that can be sold will be sold, so expect cuts in leading counters, even those not correlated to the oil price, including in gold and silver,' he added.

Sectorally, heavy selling was witnessed across several indices on the NSE. PSU Bank, Media and Financial Services stocks saw the highest selling pressure. The Nifty Auto index fell by 2.9 per cent, while Nifty Media declined by 2.36 per cent. PSU Bank index dropped 4 per cent, Nifty IT fell by 1.29 per cent, Nifty FMCG declined by 1.38 per cent, and Consumer Durables index lost 2 per cent.

Sunil Gurjar, SEBI-registered analyst and Founder of Alphamojo Financial Services, said 'The Nifty 50 had a weak week. The index also breached the important 200-EMA, while a bearish EMA crossover indicates weakness in the trend. The fall was mainly driven by heavy FII selling, a weakening rupee, and ongoing global war tensions, which hurt market sentiment,' he said.

He added that a sustained breakout above 24,646 could signal bullish momentum, while a breakdown below the current support zone may lead to further downside in the index. According to him, the second strong crucial support will be 23850.

The fall in Indian markets also comes amid sharp declines across other Asian markets. Japan's Nikkei 225 index declined by 7 per cent to the 52010 level, while South Korea's KOSPI index tanked 7.43 per cent to the 5169 level.

Other Asian markets also witnessed declines during the opening trade. Singapore's Straits Times index lost 2.65 per cent to the 4720 level, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell more than 2.46 per cent to the 25095 level, and Taiwan's weighted index dropped 5.77 per cent to the 31767 level.

Meanwhile, US markets had already ended last week under pressure. On Friday, the S&P 500 declined by 1.33 per cent to the 6740 level, while the Nasdaq also fell by 1.53 per cent to the 22400 level. (ANI)