Feb 20 (Reuters) – India’s equity benchmarks opened lower on Friday, extending the previous session’s steep decline, as sentiment stayed subdued after oil prices hit a six-month high on rising U.S.-Iran tensions.
The Nifty 50 fell 0.19% to 25,406.55, and the BSE Sensex shed 0.27% to 82,272.49, as of 9:15 a.m. IST.
Thirteen of the 16 major sectors logged losses at the open. The broader small-caps and mid-caps lost 0.2% each.
The Nifty 50 and Sensex slid about 1.5% on Thursday, marking their biggest daily drop in over two weeks amid simmering tensions in the Middle East.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran on Thursday that it must make a deal over its nuclear program or “really bad things” will happen, and set a deadline of 10 to 15 days, drawing a threat from Tehran to retaliate against U.S. bases in the region if attacked.
Brent crude oil prices rose to $71.87 per barrel on Friday, extending their three-day gains to 6.6% amid tensions in the key oil-producing region. Higher crude prices are a negative for India as it is the world’s third-largest crude oil importer. [O/R]
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Harikrishnan Nair)