The Indian equity benchmarks along with the rupee crashed on Monday as rising crude oil prices in international markets amid ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue to dent investor sentiment for risk assets like equities. The Sensex fell as much as 1,967 points or 3.62 per cent to hit lowest level since July 30, 2021 and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday low of 15,711.
The Sensex fell 1,491 points or 52,842 and Nifty 50 index dropped 382 points to close at 15,863.
Brent crude oil surged over $10 early Monday.
Benchmark U.S. crude was up nearly $9 at more than $124 a barrel, highest since 2008.
The surge followed a warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukrainian statehood was imperilled as Russian forces battered strategic locations. A temporary cease-fire in two Ukrainian cities failed over the weekend — and both sides blamed each other.
Brent crude, the international standard, hit $139.13 per barrel before falling back.
Back home, rupee fell to an all-time low of 77.20 against the US dollar as intensifying geopolitical risks due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict pushed investors to the safe-haven appeal of the greenback.
"The southward journey is continued in the Indian equity market on the back of intense geopolitical tension where boiling crude oil prices is spooking the investors' sentiment in India. Brent crude is trading near $130 per barrel which is a multiyear high level. Higher crude oil prices are leading to weakness in the rupee whereas relentless selling by FIIs is also causing pressure in our market. FIIs' selling has reached above their selling during the global financial crisis. Higher commodity prices are fuelling inflation fear and that may lead RBI to increase interest rates faster than anticipation," Parth Nyati, founder of Tradingo said.
"Technically, the overall structure is weak however 15,500 is a sacrosanct support level where we can expect a bounceback while below 15,500, we can expect levels of 15,000 while 14,000 is a worst-case scenario. On the upside, 16,300-16,500 will be the first resistance area while bulls get confidence only at a decisive move above the 17,000 level," he added.
Selling pressure was visible across sectors barring metal shares. Nifty Realty index was top sectoral loser; index dropped over 5 per cent. Nifty Bank, Private Bank, Consumer Durables, FMCG, Financial Services, Auto and Bank indices also tumbled between 2-4.5 per cent.
Broader markets also faced selling pressure as Nifty Midcap 100 index declined 2.4 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index fell 2 per cent.
IndusInd Bank was top Nifty loser, the stock fell 8.14 per cent to close at Rs 828. Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, Britannia Industries, Bajaj Finserv, Ultratech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp and ICICI Bank also fell 5-6.5 per cent.
On the flipside, Hindalco, Coal India, Bharti Airtel, UPL, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel, Infosys and Cipla were among the gainers.
The overall market breadth was extremely negative as 2,600 shares ended lower while 858 closed higher on the BSE.
