The Indian equity benchmarks crashed on Monday mirroring losses in other global markets after Russia-Ukraine war intensified. Globally, the price of oil jumped more than $10 a barrel and shares were sharply lower Monday as the conflict in Ukraine deepened amid mounting calls for harsher sanctions against Russia. The Sensex fell as much as 1,736 points or 3.1 per cent and Nifty 50 index dropped 451 points o hit an intraday low of 15,794.
As of 9:46 am, Sensex dropped 3.2 per cent or 1,719 points to 52,614 and Nifty 50 index tumbled 447 points or 2.76 per cent to 15,798.
Brent crude oil surged over $10 early Monday. Benchmark U.S. crude was up nearly $9 at more than $124 a barrel.
The surge followed a warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukrainian statehood was imperiled 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. It was trading up $10.56 at $128.67 a barrel.
U.S. futures fell, with the contract for the benchmark S&P 500 down 1.6 per cent and that for the Dow industrials falling 1.3 per cent.
Higher fuel costs are devastating for Japan, which imports almost all its energy. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dipped 3.5 per cent in morning trading to 25,091.93.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 4.0 per cent to 21,021.38, while South Korea’s Kospi dived 2.5 per cent to 2,648.48. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.2 per cent to 7,023.10. while the Shanghai Composite lost nearly 0.8 per cent to 3,421.81.
Back home, selling pressure was visible across the board as all the 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading higher led by the Nifty Auto index's nearly 5 per cent decline. Nifty Bank, Financial Services, FMCG, Media, PSU Bank, Private Bank, Realty and Consumer Durable indices also fell between 2.5-4 per cent.
Broader markets were also facing selling pressure as Nifty Midcap 100 index dropped 3 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index fell 2.54 per cent.
Maruti Suzuki was top Nifty loser, the stock fell 6 per cent to Rs 6,829. Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Eicher Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Britannia Industries, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC, Bajaj Finserv and Ultratech Cement also fell between 3.5-5.5 per cent.
On the flipside, Hindalco, Coal India, ONGC and Tata Steel were among the notable gainers.
The overall market breadth was extremely negative as 2,375 shares were declining while 557 were advancing on the BSE.
