Nifty continued its pessimistic trade for third consecutive day and ended deeply in red on Friday as intensified West Asian conflict and shoot up crude oil prices weighted on market sentiments. Brent crude oil prices surpassed $100 per barrel. Index made a gap-down start and remained under pressure till the end of the session. Traders were cautious after Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed, the latest sign the market may face a prolonged supply disruption. Meanwhile, rupee depreciation to all-time-low of 92.43 against U.S. Dollar, also impacted trading sentiments. Besides, sentiments remained weak as Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 7,049.87 on Thursday. Cautiousness also prevailed in markets as government data showed that retail inflation in the country moved up to 3.21 per cent in February compared to 2.74 per cent in the preceding month. The inflation data is based on the new CPI series with base year 2024.
