Mumbai, March 13 || The Indian equity markets opened sharply lower early on Friday as crude oil prices due to the US-Iran war weighed on investor sentiments.
As of 9.25 am, Sensex lost 516 points, or 0.68 per cent, to reach 75,517 and Nifty eased 174 points, or 0.74 per cent, to reach 23,464.
Main broad-cap indices performed in line with the benchmark indices, as the Nifty Midcap 100 declined 0.84 per cent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 lost 1.08 per cent.
All sectoral indices traded in red except Nifty FMCG which gained 0.41 per cent. Nifty metal led the losses, down 1.84 per cent. Nifty IT and media were among the top losers, down 1.18 per cent and 1.17 per cent, respectively.