New Delhi, March 23 -- Amid an escalation in the US-Iran war, crude oil prices skyrocketed on Monday, putting pressure on global equities, including the Indian stock market. Among the key benchmark indices, the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 indices crashed by over 2%, while the Bank Nifty Index nosedived byover 3%. However, following sharp selling in the stock market, gold and silver rates today received a heavy beating, as the precious metals shed over 10% during the morning trading on Monday.

The COMEX gold rate today opened with a downside gap and touched an intraday low of $4,128 per troy ounce, logging an intraday loss of more than 10%. Likewise, the MCX gold rate today opened with a downside gap at Rs.1,40,158 per 10 gm and touched an in...