New Delhi, Mar 7 (IANS): India's key indices -- S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 -- fell further in the afternoon trade amid skyrocketing crude oil prices.
The Ukraine crisis pushed Brent crude oil price to $130 a barrel on Monday, which in turn has accelerated FIIs' selling in the Indian equity market.
At 2.08 p.m., Sensex was 3.2 per cent or 1,715 points down at 52,619 points, whereas Nifty 2.8 per cent or 462 points down at 15,784 points.
"Market is slipping into bearish territory. Investors have to be cautious. There is relative safety in energy due to high energy prices, metals due to high global prices and export segments due to resilient demand and rupee depreciation," said V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
In the afternoon session. Nifty bank, auto, and realty slumped, declining in a range of 5-6 per cent, NSE data showed.