Mumbai, January 8: Sensex started the session on Wednesday by tanking 400 points on US-Iran tensions and Nifty fell below the 12,000 mark. The benchmark indices recovered briefly but slipped again. The BSE Sensex was trading at 40,679.50, down 190 points at around 11 am on Wednesday. Nifty, on the other hand, was at 11,777 around the same time.

L&T Bank was the loser in the Sensex pack, shedding up to 1.47 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI, Axis Bank, NTPC and Titan. On the other hand, TCS, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Auto and Reliance Industries were trading in the green

Tensions between US and Iran has escalated as Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against US military and coalition forces in Iraq, targeting at least two bases at Al-Asad and Abril. The US soon announced that the initial battle damages are being assessed and the bases have been put on high alert to prevent further attacks. Indian Nationals Warned Against Visiting Iraq, Carriers Told to Avoid Gulf Airspace as US-Iran Tensions Escalate.

The government on Tuesday released first advance estimates of GDP numbers for the current financial year (2019-20) pegging the growth at 5 percent. The Indian rupee is trading lower by 17 paise at 72 per dollar versus previous close 71.83.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 08, 2020 11:10 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).