Stock market crash continues, rupee at record low amid West Asia conflict

The Indian stock market on Wednesday continued its slide amid concerns related to the conflict in West Asia.

As of 12 pm, the benchmark Sensex index had fallen more than 1,400 points or 1.8%. The Nifty had also fallen by 1.9% below the 24,400-mark.

The market had crashed on Monday when it opened for the first time since the conflict began. It was closed on Tuesday because of the Hindu festival of Holi.

The India VIX index, which measures volatility in the market, had spiked around 9% at 12pm on Wednesday.

Major Asian stock indices also fell on Wednesday morning. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index had plummeted about 2.4% as of 12 pm Indian time.

While Japan’s Nikkei tanked 3.7%, South Korea’s Kospi fell 12.2%.

Rupee at record low

As of 12 pm, the Indian rupee had sunk to 92.2 against the United States dollar amid concerns that rising crude prices may lead to higher inflation, Bloomberg reported. This was a fall of about 0.7% from the previous close.

The price of benchmark Brent crude had jumped to $82 per barrel on Wednesday from $73 per barrel on Friday, the day before the conflict began.

On Saturday, Israel and the US launched a joint operation to “degrade the capabilities” of the Iranian government.

The attacks came amid tensions between the three countries over Tehran’s nuclear programme. Washington acts...

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