New Delhi, May 18 -- Shares of oil & gas companies traded sharply lower on Monday, in-line with the broader Indian stock market crash, after crude oil prices surged amid escalating US-Iran war in the Middle East.

The Nifty Oil & Gas index declined 1.6%, with all its constituents trading in the red. Chennai Petroleum Corporation shares were the top loser in the index with a fall of 3.2%. It was followed by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) shares which dropped more than 2.5% each.

Adani Total Gas, Mahanagar Gas and GAIL (India) shares declined over 2% each, while Indraprastha Gas, Petronet LNG and Reliance Industries shares also dropped over 1% each.

Crude ...