March 13 (Reuters) - India's equity benchmarks opened lower on Friday, setting the stage for their biggest weekly drop in more than a year, as the escalating Middle East conflict pushed up Brent crude and drove investors out of risk assets into cash.
The Nifty 50 fell 0.75% to 23,462.5, while the BSE Sensex lost 0.78% to 75,444.22, as of 9:15 a.m. IST. The indexes have lost 4% and 4.4%, respectively, this week - on course for their biggest drop since December 2024.
Fourteen of the 16 major sectors fell on Friday. The broader small-caps and mid-caps are down 0.4% and 0.5%.
Brent crude oil futures surged to $100 per barrel on Thursday, due to the raging Mideast conflict and disruption to supplies through the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
Auto stocks fell 1.3%, extending losses to a third day, on concerns over crude price spike and liquefied natural gas supply disruption.
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
