Sensex, Nifty see sudden afternoon crash: Factors dampening investor sentiment 

Indian equity benchmarks plunged in the afternoon session today as brent crude oil price surged over 4% to $104.27 per barrel today. Asian peers also came under selling pressure as surging oil prices caused inflation concerns. Nikkei plunged 750 pts to 69,285 and Hang Seng crashed 450 pts to 23,682. Taiwan Weighted plunged 493 pts and Kospi crashed 178 points.

At home, Sensex plunged 1088 pts to 71,550 in the afternoon session today against the previous close of 72,638. Nifty too lost 375 pts to 22,228 against the previous close of 22,603.

"Elevated oil prices and US Treasury yields continue to warrant investors' attention, while the persistent FII selling and mixed global cues limit conviction," said Hitesh Tailor, technical research analyst at Choice Broking.

Among stocks, Paytm and One Mobikwik fell 7% each, while Pine Labs fell 3.1% amid a report that the planned October 15 rollout of merchant fees on certain digital-payment transactions is likley to be delayed by a few months.

ITC shares fell 3% after about 4.4 million shares changed hands in 12 block deals at a discount of 0.6%-3.1% over last close.

On Wednesday, FIIs sold equities worth Rs 6121 crore, according to NSE data. This is the ninth straight session in which FIIs have turned sellers.

Another factor leading to the dampening of sentiment in Indian and Asian markets was US 10-year Treasury bond yield at a high of 5.32%. On Wednesday, the bond yield rose to a high of 5.36% , its highest level since 2002.

A rise in bond yields hurts equities as companies and consumers face higher borrowing costs. Yields on US Treasuries are up as the global energy shock driven by the Iran war pushed prices higher, while the US national debt has continued to grow.