Russia Ukraine crisis: Sensex crashes over 2,700 points, Nifty settles at 16,247

Indian equity benchmarks fell sharply for the seventh consecutive session on Thursday, losing over 5% as tension escalated between Russia and Ukraine. The major indexes opened in the red and remained in the red for the rest of the trading day.

Also Read| How the Russia-Ukraine crisis is expected to affect the global economy

This is the longest losing streak for the two indices since the Covid-19 pandemic began. The last time Sensex and Nifty dropped for seven straight sessions was in February 2020.

The Sensex has dropped almost 3,600 points in the last seven sessions. Since February 16, both indices have lost more than 6%.

Also Read| Crude oil touches $100, Gold rises over 2% as Russian troops enter Ukraine

The Sensex declined 2,702.15 points or 4.72% to 54,529.91 and the Nifty was down by 815.30 points or 4.78% to 16,247.95. The Sensex touched a high and low of 55,996.09 and 54,383.20, respectively. All the 30 stocks that make up the index declined. The Nifty traded in a range of 16,705.25 and 16,203.25, and all its 50 constituents fell.

Also Read| Ukraine President Zelensky accuses Russia of acting like ‘Nazi Germany’

The top Sensex losers were IndusInd Bank, down by 7.88%, Mahindra & Mahindra, down by 6.34%, Bajaj Finance, down by 6.02%, Axis Bank, down by 5.99%, and Tech Mahindra, down by 5.75%. The top Nifty losers were Tata Motors, down by 10.71%, Indusind Bank, down by 8.45%, UPL, down by 8.28%, Grasim Industries, down by 7.83% and JSW Steel, down by 7.27%.

Also Read| NATO chief: No plans to send troops into Ukraine amid Russian invasion

“The Nifty has broken a significant support level of 16,600 and witnessed selling pressure in line with global markets. We believe volatility will remain elevated on account of an external shock and expect the March series to witness further negative bias,” Sahaj Agrawal, Head of Research – Derivatives at Kotak Securities, wrote in a note. 

Also Read| Vladimir Putin vows to ‘denazify’ Ukraine as Russian troops march in

The broader indices underperformed, with the S&P BSE MidCap and S&P BSE SmallCap both dropping more than 5.5%. All 19 sector indices compiled by BSE fell, with the S&P BSE Realty index plunging 7.27% and the S&P BSE Telecom and S&P BSE Auto indices plummeting more than 6%. The market breadth was heavily skewed in favour of the bears. Approximately 232 stocks rose, 3,160 fell and 86 were unchanged.

Also Read| China okays Russian imports to help with sanctions; slams West for ‘hyping’ war

Asian markets ended deeply in the red on Thursday with shares in Hong Kong leading the region. The Hang Seng is down 3.21% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 is off 1.81% and China’s Shanghai Composite is lower by 1.70%.

Also Read| ‘Barbarian act:’ World leaders condemn Russia on Ukraine

The European markets were trading lower with UK’s FTSE 100 down 185.64 points or 2.48% to 7,312.54, France’s CAC down 235.26 points or 3.47% to 6,545.41 and Germany’s DAX down 546.87 points or 3.74% to 14,084.49.