Dalal Street nervous over oil, Sensex tanks 600 pts

Mumbai: Sensex fell nearly 600 points shortly before close on Tuesday following sharp rise in oil prices globally which continued to send shock waves across financial market.
At 2.42 p.m., the bencmark Sensex was trading with a loss of 587.76 point or 1.5 8 per cent at 36,535.55, while the broader index, the Nifty50 fell over 167 points to 10,836.20.
The global oil benchmark, Brent, was trading at $68 a barrel from its Friday’s close of $60 prior to the attack on Saudi oil facilities during the weekend.
Automobile companies on the NSE lost the most, being the sectors to be most affected by the rising cost.
The Nifty auto index slipped over 3 per cent in the afternoon.
Brent, on Monday surged as much as 20 per cent to above $71 a barrel as markets reopened after a major attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure.