Rs 9.7 lakh crore wiped out! Sensex tanks, rupee breaches 92 amid Middle East crisis

The BSE Sensex plunged over 1,600 points at the opening bell, while the NSE Nifty fell nearly 500 points in early trade.

Though the indices recovered slightly during the session, the Sensex was still down nearly 1,300 points, with the Nifty trading over 400 points lower.

The selloff mirrored heavy losses in global markets, with Wall Street closing in the red on Tuesday amid rising geopolitical concerns.

The Bank Nifty slid 2%, led by sharp declines in Axis Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), and Bank of Baroda (BoB). Infosys, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), and HCLTech were among the few early gainers.

Within the Nifty 50 pack, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, and Shriram Finance emerged as top losers, while Coal India, Infosys, and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) were among the gainers.

As investors moved away from riskier assets, safe-haven demand surged. Gold and silver prices jumped sharply on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).

April gold futures rose 1.33% to Rs 1,63,265 per 10 grams, while silver climbed 2.14% to Rs 2,71,000 per kilogram.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee breached the 92-per-dollar mark for the first time, as soaring oil prices and global uncertainty weighed on sentiment. Nearly Rs 9.7 lakh crore in investor wealth was wiped out in the market rout.