Sensex Crashes Over 1,600 Points Amid Ukraine Crisis, Nifty Below 15,800; Auto, Bank Stocks Drag

The Indian equity indices staged a huge gap-down opening on Monday amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Crude prices soared and global shares sank as the risk of a U.S. and European ban on Russian oil and delays in Iranian talks triggered what was shaping up as a major stagflationary shock for world markets.

Commodities of all stripes were on the rise as the Russian-Ukraine conflict showed no sign of cooling. Gold hit the key level of $2,000 per ounce as investors rushed towards safe-haven assets. Oil prices surged above the $130 mark to hit their highest since 2008.

Back home, as of 10:51 am, the benchmark BSE Sensex crashed 1,622 points or 2.98 per cent to 52,712; while the broader NSE Nifty dived 456 points or 2.81 per cent to 15,789.

Mid-and small-cap shares were trading in the negative zone as Nifty Midcap 100 index slipped 2.62 per cent up and small-cap shares shed 2.41 per cent.

Most of the sector gauges — compiled by the National Stock Exchange — were trading in the red. Nifty Auto and Nifty Bank were underperforming the index by falling as much as 4.38 per cent and 3.69 per cent, respectively, in early trade. However, Nifty Metal moved as much as 0.47 per cent higher.

On the stock-specific front, Maruti Suzuki India was the top Nifty loser as the stock cracked 5.59 per cent to ₹ 6,842.35. Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Eicher Motors and M&M were also among the laggards.

On BSE, the overall market breadth was weak as 572 shares were advancing while 2,043 were declining.

On the 30-share BSE index, Maruti, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, L&T, UltraTech Cement, M&M were among the top losers. In contrast, Tata Steel was trading in the green.

Sensex had dived 769 points or 1.40 per cent to close at 54,334 on Friday; while Nifty had moved 253 points or 1.53 per cent lower to settle at 16,245.