Mumbai, June 30: The double jinx — rising crude oil prices and political uncertainty — nailed the markets once again today with the sensex sinking by 340 points to dip below the 13500-mark.

At 13405.54, this was a 14-month nadir for the bellwether index. The bears clawed the banking, realty, power, and oil and gas stocks.

Brokers said if it hadn’t been for the firmness shown by the infotech, FMCG and pharmaceutical counters, investors would have had to contend with devastating losses.

While the BSE benchmark index opened marginally lower at 13791.02 against the previous close of 13802.22, it stayed in a tight range initially. However, pressure started building up around noon as news of continuing high crude oil prices poured in.

Investors were also spooked by the rumblings on Raisina Hill which prompted investors to dump stocks.

With no significant buying emerging from the local and foreign institutions, the benchmark index plunged to an intra-day low of 13,405.54 before closing at 13,461.60, a drop of 340.62 points, or 2.47 per cent. Similarly, the 50-share S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange fell 96.10 points, or 2.32 per cent, to close at 4,040.55.

Analysts said stocks would remain under pressure as long as crude oil prices remained firm.