India, Sept. 11 -- Indian stock market indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty opened sharply lower on Friday as Brent crude surged to $108 a barrel, with the widening Middle East conflict prompting investors to move away from riskier assets.

In the first few minutes of trade on Friday, the Sensex plunged over 700 points to hover around 74,199, while the Nifty fell 222.55 points, or 0.95 per cent, to 23,255.75.

GIFT Nifty futures were at 23,346 points as of 7:18 am IST, indicating the negative start for the Nifty 50 index, which closed at 23,477.8 on Thursday, according to figures cited in a Reuters report.

The Nifty and Sensex have fallen 1.8 per cent and 2.1 per cent this week, setting the stage for their fifth-straight weekly drop.

Iran-a...