The benchmark indices tumbled on Thursday as rising oil prices amid heightened geopolitical tensions prompted traders to lock in gains after recent rallies. Among the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices ended lower by 1.59 per cent and 1.27 per cent, respectively.
Overseas, European stocks were moving lower on Thursday as earnings proved to be a mixed bag and reports emerged that the U.S. military is prepared to strike Iran as early as this weekend. The pan European Stoxx 600 dipped 0.2 percent to 627.16 after climbing 1.2 percent on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Oil prices soared to multi-month highs, with Brent contract surging above $71 a barrel after reports emerged that the U.S. military is ready for potential strikes on Iran as soon as Saturday.
Gold added to sharp overnight gains on Thursday, rising above $5,000 an ounce after reports suggested the U.S. military is prepared to launch strikes against Iran as early as this weekend.
On the corporate front, all 30 stocks in the Sensex index ended in the red, with shares of IndiGo, M&M, UntraTech Cement, Trent and BEL among the top laggards, falling up to 3.2 per cent.
The 30-share benchmark ended at 82498.14 down by -1236.11 points or by -1.48 % and then NSE Nifty was at 25454.35 down by -365 points or by -1.41 %.
The BSE Sensex touched intraday high of 83979.36 and intraday low of 82264.2 The NSE Nifty touched intraday high of 25885.3 and intraday low of 25388.75.
The top losers of the BSE Sensex pack were InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. (Rs. 4818.50,-3.23%), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (Rs. 3425.80,-2.97%), UltraTech Cement Ltd. (Rs. 12669.95,-2.90%), Trent Ltd. (Rs. 4065.00,-2.89%), Bharat Electronics Ltd. (Rs. 435.55,-2.70%), among others.
Among sectors, HCS index was at 43040.27 up by -286.8 points or by -0.66%. Blue Jet Healthcare Ltd (Rs. 364.70,+1.46%), Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. (Rs. 1175.75,+1.38%), Syngene International Ltd. (Rs. 438.90,+1.32%), Advanced Enzyme Technologies Ltd. (Rs. 304.00,+1.20%), Aster DM Healthcare Ltd. (Rs. 635.90,+1.04%),.
On the other side, Realty index was at 6347.89 down by -165.37 points or by -2.54%. Lodha Developers Ltd. (Rs. 1064.70,-3.83%), Godrej Industries Ltd. (Rs. 1811.00,-3.50%), DLF Ltd. (Rs. 620.60,-3.39%), Oberoi Realty Ltd. (Rs. 1503.40,-2.62%), Prestige Estates Projects Ltd. (Rs. 1494.65,-2.09%),.
The Market breadth, indicating the overall strength of the market, was weak. On BSE out of total shares traded 4529 , shares advanced were 1384 while 2962 shares declined and 183 were unchanged.