India, March 10 -- Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty nosedived nearly 2 per cent on Monday as soaring crude oil prices and weak global trends due to the worsening situation in West Asia triggered a sharp sell-off in the stock market. Besides, unabated foreign fund exodus and the weakness in the rupee against the US dollar weighed heavily on investors' sentiment, traders said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 1,352.74 points, or 1.71 per cent, to settle at 77,566.16, registering its second day of decline. During the day, the benchmark crashed 2,494.35 points, or 3.16 per cent, to 76,424.55. On similar lines, the 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 422.40 points, or 1.73 per cent, to end at 24,028.05. Intra-day, it tumbled 752.65 points, or 3...