Shares of Indian Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) continued to face selling pressure for the second straight session after oil prices soared as escalating West Asia tensions rattled investor sentiment.

Bharat Petroleum Corp. (BPCL) stock fell as much as 4.5 per cent to ₹357.6 per share. Shares of Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) slid 4.3 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively. The Nifty Oil and Gas index was down 3.2 per cent.

The ongoing conflict in West Asia triggered a sharp fall in the Nifty 50 index in the last two trading sessions. The index is now trading nearly 1,000-points below its 200-day moving average (DMA) that stands at 25,345 mark - a key technical level it first breached last Friday. If the war prolongs and impacts crude oil prices further, analysts see more pain ahead for the markets.

Amid escalating tensions in West Asia and growing concerns over disruptions to global oil supplies, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would take "immediate steps to safeguard maritime trade" in the Gulf region, including offering political risk insurance and potentially deploying naval escorts through the Strait of Hormuz.

Tickets for the playoffs in Mexico that will determine two of the final World Cup berths are being sold by Fifa for less than $17, far less than the $4,185 to $8,680 Fifa is charging for this year's final in New Jersey.

Fifa put tickets on sale Tuesday for the games on March 26 and 31 in Guadalajara and Monterrey involving Bolivia, Congo, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname.

Explosions sounded in Iran's capital city Wednesday as its war with the US and Israel entered a fifth day following earlier strikes on an Iranian nuclear site and retaliatory strikes by the Islamic Republic across the Gulf region.

Iranian state television reported explosions around Tehran at dawn. Meanwhile, Israel said its air defences were activated due to incoming missile fire from Iran.

US President Donald Trump on Monday (local time) sent an official letter to Congress about the US strikes against Iran, where he justified military action, reported Fox News.

In his letter Trump said that the strikes were conducted at his direction on February 28 to protect US interests, ensuring free flow of maritime commerce via Strait of Hormuz and for the collective self-defence of regional allies, including allies.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday launched key women-centric initiatives at the Sashakt Nari, Samriddh Delhi programme, including the free LPG cylinder scheme for ration card holders and the Delhi Lakhpati Bitiya Yojana.

Highlighting education, mobility, and domestic empowerment, she announced that funds for 30,000 girls under the Ladli-Ladli scheme have been disbursed via DBT.

Beijing said Washington gave the government no advance warning of its attack on Iran, as it called for an immediate end to the hostilities.

“I can say that China was not informed beforehand,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Monday.

The Centre is fully prepared to bring back Indians stranded in the Gulf region and is in touch with Indian missions abroad to ensure their safety, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Monday.

In a statement, Joshi said discussions have been held with senior officials of the concerned embassies to facilitate the safe return of those affected by the war situation.

Amazon Web Services Inc. suffered a disruption to its services after unidentified objects struck one of its data centres in the United Arab Emirates, causing a fire.

While it is unclear if the incident is related to the conflict between the US and Iran, the fire broke out on the same day Iranian projectiles struck the UAE in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior officials.

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