Stock Markets Slump in Early Trade as West Asia War Enters 5th Week

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled in early trade on Monday as the ongoing war in West Asia continue to rattle markets globally, driving crude oil prices higher. In Asian markets, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were quoting sharply lower, while Shanghai’s SSE Composite index traded in positive territory. The US market ended significantly lower on Friday. The Nasdaq Composite index tanked 2.15%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.73% and S&P 500 declined by 1.67%. Foreign investors have pulled out ?1.14 lakh crore (about $12.3 billion) from domestic…