At close, the Sensex was down 2,702.15 points or 4.72% at 54,529.91, and the Nifty was down 815.30 points or 4.78% at 16,248.
The Indian benchmark indices registered their biggest single-day fall in nearly two years, thereby settling in the red for the seventh straight session on February 24 as Russia invaded Ukraine in Europe's 'darkest hours' since World War II.
February month F&O expiry and Brent crude oil prices crossing the crucial $100 per barrel for the first time in more than seven years after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised a special military operation in Ukraine, spooked market participants on Dalal Street.
At close, the Sensex was down 2,702.15 points or 4.72% at 54,529.91, and the Nifty was down 815.30 points or 4.78% at 16,248.
Global stocks and US bond yields, too, dived on Thursday, while the dollar, gold and oil prices rocketed higher as Russian forces fired missiles at several Ukrainian cities and landed troops on its south coast, reported Reuters.
The market opened over 2 percent lower and extended the selling as the day progressed and ended near the day’s low points with nearly 5 percent cut.
"With Brent crude breaching the $100 mark for the first time in 7 years post the Russian military operation in Ukraine, both the benchmark Indices wilted with a 5% cut as the volatility index rose 30% today with all sectoral indices ending deeply in the red wiping out over Rs 10 lakh crore of investor wealth," said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP securities.
"A peep into the Advance-Decline ratio said it all as the carnage together with the volatility witnessed today was painful for both investors and traders," he added.
All stocks on Nifty50 ended in the red with Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, UPL, Grasim Industries and JSW Steel being the biggest losers.
All the sectoral indices settled in the negative territory with Nifty PSU Bank index losing over 8 percent, Auto index falling 6 percent and Metal index declining 5.2 percent.
Broader indices underperformed the benchmarks as both BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices plunged over 5 percent each.
On the BSE, all the sectoral indices ended on a negative note with Realty index falling over 7 percent, Auto down 6 percent and Bank, oil & gas, power indices down 5 percent each.
A short build-up was seen in Indus Towers, Rain Industries, PNB, IDFC First Bank and Amara Raja Batteries.
Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 400 percent was seen in Escorts, PNB and Indiabulls Housing Finance.
More than 250 stocks touched a 52-week low, including Star Cement, SMS Pharmaceuticals, NBCC, LIC Housing Finance, HDFC Life Insurance Company and DCB Bank.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities:
Technically, after a long time, benchmark Nifty closed below the 200-day SMA and has also formed a long bearish candle on daily charts, which suggests further weakness from the current levels.
Considering the uncertainties hovering around, the index may trade lower between the highs of 16,800 and 16,000. The market is in corrective mode and it would complete its corrective pattern between 16,200 and 16,000. For the traders, 16,400 and 16,500 could act as intraday resistance while 16,100-16,000 could be the immediate support zone.
Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking:
Markets are rattled with the news of Russia’s attack on Ukraine and it may cascade further citing the further news updates. This fall has resulted in the breakdown of the consolidation range in the Nifty index and it might find support around the 15,900-16,000 zone.
Traders should align their position accordingly and prefer trading through options strategies.
Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services
Markets are likely to remain under pressure given the escalation of Russia Ukraine conflict into a war like situation. Any reaction from NATO / US armies is only going to worsen the situation further.
Advice traders to remain with negative bias while investors need to keep calm and patience to tide over the current situation.
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
