The Sensex fell more than 600 points in the morning session on Wednesday, following a selloff in global equity markets as tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalated.

Furthermore, rising international crude prices and continuing foreign capital outflows impacted investor sentiment.

Also Read| US Stock Market: DJIA, S&P500, Nasdaq and Russell fell over 1.5% on Tuesday

In early trade, the BSE index was down 613.55 points, or 1.09%, at 55,633.73. Similarly, the Nifty dropped 175.30 points, or 1.04%, to 16,618.60.

The Sensex’s biggest loss was ICICI Bank, which fell 3.46%, followed by Asian Paints, Maruti, the HDFC twins, Kotak Bank, and Ultratech Cement. On the other hand, Tata Steel, M&M, Reliance Industries, PowerGrid, NTPC and Tech Mahindra were the gainers.

Also Read| Crypto Fear and Greed Index on Wednesday, March 2, 2022

The 30-share BSE index closed 388.76 points, or 0.70% higher, at 56,247.28 in the previous session. Similarly, the NSE Nifty gained 135.50 points, or 0.81%, to close at 16,793.90.

The equity markets were closed on Tuesday for Mahashivratri. In Asia, bourses in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Shanghai were trading with significant losses in mid-session trade. In the overnight session, stock markets in the United States finished substantially down.

Also Read| Stocks that should be on your watchlist on Wednesday, March 2, 2022

The United States and the European Union have placed a variety of sanctions on Russia. These include restrictions on Russia’s largest banks as well as the exclusion of its financial institutions from the SWIFT global payments system. They have, however, permitted its oil and natural gas supplies to continue.

Also Read| Trending Stocks: RIL, BoB, Indiamart, Vedant Fashions and others in news today

According to stock exchange statistics, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to be net sellers in the Indian capital markets on Monday, selling shares worth Rs 3,948.47 crore.

Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose 5.73% to USD 110.98 a barrel. In early trade, the rupee falls 49 paise to 75.82 against the US dollar.