Sensex dips over 1400 points while Nifty trades below 16,700 in early trade

The Sensex and Nifty fell more than 2.5% in early morning trade on Thursday, after major selloffs in global stock markets following Russia’s announcement of a military operation in Ukraine.

Following events in Eastern Europe, the BSE Sensex fell 1,461.35 points, or 2.55%, to 55,770.71, while the Nifty fell 430.10 points, or 2.52%, to 16,633.15.

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All Sensex members were trading with significant losses, with Airtel, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, and SBI suffering the most — losing up to 8%.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement that a military operation will be launched in Ukraine sent international markets into a tailspin, with Asian stocks tumbling into the negative.

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Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to “consequences they have never seen.” Brent crude oil surged to USD 100 a barrel for the first time in 8 years tracking the Ukraine-Russia crisis.

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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 9:20 a.m., Brent crude oil futures were up 3% at $99.72 a barrel in Asian trading.

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On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) gold prices increased marginally on Thursday. Gold futures were trading at Rs 51,465.00 per 10 gm, up 1,086 points or 2.16%, while Silver futures were trading at Rs 66,848.00 per kg, up 1,459 points or 2.23%. Rupee plummets 55 paise to 75.16 against the USD in early trade as Russia announced the military operation in Ukraine.

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Continuing their selling spree, foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth Rs 3,417.16 crore in the Indian capital markets on Wednesday, exchange data showed.