Crude oil prices crashed nearly 5 per cent, with Brent Crude falling to $41 per barrel.

U.S. crude futures also were down sharply by more than 4 per cent at $38.60 a barrel, after falling near 6 per cent percent in early morning trade.

Saudi Arabia, another big oil producer stuck to its ground, that it would not cut production unless others do.

Japanese Energy stocks tumbled and in India it is likely that major crude oil E&P companies would see their stocks lower. ONGC and Oil India are expected to see their share prices falling.

However, a drop in crude prices tends to benefit oil marketing companies in India, which may see their shares rally. Shares like BPCL and HPCL are expected to open sharply lower.

A fall in crude prices has led to a drop in the Asian indices, with the Japanese Nikkei the Shanghai Composite and the Hong Kong's Hang Sang all down in trade.

GoodReturns.in