Stock Market Highlights: Following a flat opening on Wednesday, both BSE Sensex and Nifty50 fell as the day progressed. Sensex dropped over 1,000 points, Nifty fell below 24,000 as auto, bank, NBFC stocks bled.

Inflation fears amid the ongoing Iran war and the consequent risks to oil supply spooked investors. At the close, Nifty50 ended 1.63% or 394.75 points lower at 23,866.85, and the Sensex settled 1.72% or 1,342.27 points down at 76,863.71.

The mid and small-cap indices, however, outperformed. The BSE MidCap Index rose by 0.80%, while the BSE SmallCap Index jumped more than 1% during the session.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Auto was the top loser as it dropped nearly 2%, followed by Nifty Bank, which was down 1.5%, with 13 out of 14 constituents trading in the red.

Earlier on Tuesday, equity benchmark indices had recovered after two days of decline, supported by a sharp fall in Brent crude oil prices, which dropped over 25% from around $115 to below $90 per barrel.

Global markets rallied 2-7% amid hopes of easing geopolitical tensions after Donald Trump suggested the conflict with Iran may end soon.

Source:Ndtv