New Delhi, March 9 -- It was the second consecutive day of strong losses for equity benchmarks, the Sensex and the Nifty 50, on Monday, March 9, as panic selling continued due to escalating US-Iran war, spike in crude oil prices, and the rupee's fall to record low levels.

The Sensex crashed 1,353 points, or 1.71%, to end at 77,566.16, while the Nifty 50 declined 422 points, or 1.73%, to end at 24,028.05. The selloff was more intense in the broader segment as the BSE 150 MidCap Index crashed 2%, while the BSE 250 SmallCap Index plunged 2.46%.

Investors lost Rs.9 lakh crore in a session on Monday, while the two sessions of selloff have made them poorer by Rs.12 lakh crore. The overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms stood at Rs....