Russia Ukraine crisis: Sensex crashes 1,400 points, Nifty sinks below 16,600

Indian indexes began with a gap down on February 24 with the Nifty falling below 16,600 due to escalating geopolitical concerns in Eastern Europe. The Sensex fell 1,426.28 points, or 2.49%, to 55,805.78, while the Nifty dipped 407.80 points, or 2.39%, to 16,655.50. Approximately 270 shares have advanced, 1853 shares have declined, and 79 shares have remained constant.

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  “The growing concern surrounding the deteriorating Ukraine crisis has pushed global stock markets into correction mode. The near 20% decline from the peak in NASDAQ is a clear indication of the correction that has set in. Also, the safe-haven gold shooting to $1913 is a reflection of the risks arising from the crisis. Investors should wait and watch the unfolding situation before making any major commitments. Buying should be confined to stocks/ segments which are fairly valued or have good earnings visibility”, said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

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“IT, though highly valued, is a sector whose prospects are steadily improving. There are instances of promoters buying stocks of IT companies. This is an indication of better-than-expected results from the sector. Investors can use sharp market corrections to slowly accumulate high-quality stocks in IT”, he added.

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UPL, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel and ICICI Bank were among major losers on the Nifty, while Nestle is the only gainer with marginal gains. Shares of SpiceJet dropped 4% while Indigo fell 3% after Russia ordered military action on Ukraine.  

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Tyre and Paint firms fell after crude oil hit $100 a barrel. Tyre companies use a lot of crude intermediates, paint companies use crude derivatives, and hence rising oil prices increase their input costs. Asian Paints fell 1.8%, Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd fell 2.2%, Berger Paints India Ltd 2%, Shalimar Paints Ltd 3.2%. Apollo Tyres lost 2.5%, MRF 1.3%, CEAT 1.5%, JK Tyre & Industries 4%.

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Crude oil prices continue to be a key challenge for the aviation sector. According to analysts, the March quarter is generally bad for aviation companies, and the continued rise in ATF may have a negative influence on this seasonally weak quarter, further straining its finances.

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Oil prices, which have been volatile in recent weeks due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict, jumped beyond $100 per barrel in Brent futures for the first time since 2014, as traders anticipated more sanctions would harm Russia’s crude oil exports. At 9:06 a.m., Brent crude oil futures were up 2.6% at $99.34 a barrel in Asian trading.

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Furthermore, other asset classes, such as gold, are seeing a breakout, with international markets climbing to levels of 1928.30/oz, a rise of more than 1%.