(RTTNews) - Indian shares were sharply lower in early trade on Thursday as Brent crude prices topped $120 a barrel on rising uncertainty over the war in the Middle East, fueling inflation and interest-rate concerns.
The benchmark BSE Sensex was down 978 points, or 1.3 percent, at 76,518 while the broader NSE Nifty index slumped by 326 points, or 1.3 percent, to 23,852.
Among the prominent decliners, Tata Steel, BEL, UltraTech Cement, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Adani Ports, Indigo and Eternal were down 2-4 percent.
Hindustan Unilever was marginally lower, Adani Enterprises fell 2.5 percent and IDBI Bank fell about 1 percent ahead of their earnings results due today.
Larsen & Toubro declined 1.5 percent on worries that it could face execution disruptions in its Middle East projects.
Bajaj Finance rallied 2.7 percent after reporting a 22 percent year-on-year rise in its quarterly profit.
IIFL Finance rose 1.2 percent after delivering a robust performance in the fourth quarter.
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