Russia-Ukraine row roils markets

Hyderabad: Dalal Street witnessed a 'Manic Monday' as key indices -BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty-- suffered a biggest fall in 11 months. The worsening situation between Russia and Ukraine rattled the global markets on Monday after western nations particularly the US cautioned the Russia invasion anytime. This triggered panic selling across the board and all the sectoral indices closed in the red. As a result, the BSE Sensex tumbled three per cent and NSE Nifty crashed below the 17,000-level. Further, a depreciating Indian rupee and FPI outflows added to the gloom. The latest turmoil on bourses eroded investors' wealth by over Rs8.47 lakh crore in two sessions.

Plummeting for the second straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 1,747.08 points or three per cent to settle at 56,405.84 points. This was its biggest single-day drop since February 26, 2021. Similarly, broader NSE Nifty too plunged 531.95 points or 3.06 per cent to 16,842.80 -- closing below the key 17,000-level for the first time this year.

With Monday's fall, the BSE Sensex lost 2,520.19 points in just two sessions. Investors have lost more than Rs 8.47 lakh crore in two days, with the market capitalisation of all BSE-listed firms standing at Rs 2,55,42,725.42 crore.

As per latest data on BSE, the market breadth indicates that there were 19 declining stocks for every single scrip moved up, while the advance-decline ratio stood at 1:13 on NSE. Fear gauge, India VIX, rose 23.01 per cent to 22.98 level."On the domestic front, the annual WPI inflation eased marginally to 12.96 per cent in January from 13.56 per cent in December, but still high, amid moderation in the fuel and power prices," said Vinod Nair, head (research) at Geojit Financial Services.

Ajit Mishra, V-P (research), Religare Broking, adds: "As anticipated, global cues are now dictating the trend and the prevailing geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine combined with a steady uptick in crude is not going well with the participants. After weeks of consolidation, we feel bears are now in a more commanding position and likely to push the index further lower.

Increased tension between the US and Russia over Ukraine sent oil prices rising and forced investors to dump risky assets. Risk sentiment was further dampened ahead of the Fed's emergency meeting which heightened fears of aggressive monetary tightening." Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital market on Friday as they purchased shares worth Rs 108.53 crore, as per stock exchange data. On the Sensex chart, barring TCS, all shares closed with steep to moderate losses on Monday. Tata Steel was the biggest laggard, tumbling 5.49 per cent, followed by HDFC, SBI, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank and Maruti.

All 19 BSE sectoral indices suffered losses, with realty, metal and banking plummeting over five per cent. Broader smallcap, midcap and largecap indices shed as much as 4.15 per cent. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses closed deep in the red after concerns that Russia may soon invade Ukraine, which also sent oil prices soaring. Markets in Europe too were trading with heavy losses in the afternoon session.

The US administration has become increasingly outspoken about its concerns that Russia will create a false pretext for the invasion of Ukraine. The US has reaffirmed its commitment to defend 'every inch' of the NATO territory. Global crude oil benchmark Brent futures spiked over one per cent to $95.44 per barrel on Monday. The rupee plunged by 24 paise to close at 75.60 against the US currency on Monday.

Bears on Prowl

♦ BSE Sensex tanked 1,747.08 pts to 56,405.84

♦ NSE Nifty plunged 531.95 pts to 16,842.80

♦ Biggest single-day drop since Feb 26, 2021

♦ Nifty closing below key 17,000-level for first time this year

♦ BSE mcap at Rs255,43 lakh cr

♦ All 19 BSE sectoral indicesended lower

♦ Tata Steel biggest laggard

♦ HDFC, SBI, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank and Maruti major losers