People check Sensex updates at a screen outside the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building.
Highlight
- Sensex falls 1491 points amid Russia-Ukraine crisis
- Foreign institutional investors continued selling in Indian markets
Equity benchmarks fell sharply on Monday with the Sensex falling 1,491 points amid extremely weak global markets and higher oil prices on the back of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Extending its downtrend for the fourth straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex opened on a weak note and opened at 52,367.10, down 1,966.71 points or 3.61 per cent during the day.
It finally managed to regain some of the lost ground and closed down 1,491.06 points or 2.74 per cent at 52,842.75. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty ended 382.20 points or 2.35 per cent lower at 15,863.15. “Indian equity market continues its journey south on the back of intense geopolitical tensions, where spurt in crude oil prices is shaking investor sentiment in India. Brent crude is trading close to USD 130 a barrel which is a Multi-year high level.
According to Partha Nyati, Founder, Tradingo, “The rupee is depreciating due to high crude oil prices while continuous selling by FIIs is also putting pressure on our market. From the 30-share pack, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement and Mahindra & Mahindra were the biggest drags, falling up to 7.63 per cent.
In contrast, Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel and Infosys closed in the green. Realty, bank, finance and auto closed with big cuts in the BSE sectoral indices. Borrowers in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo closed significantly lower. European stock exchanges were also trading in negative territory in the afternoon session. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 6.08 per cent to $125.3 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors continued their sell-off in the Indian markets and sold shares worth Rs 7,631.02 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data. PMS chief Mohit Nigam said, “This week’s focus will be on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and its impact on oil prices. On the domestic front, investors will keep an eye on the results of the state elections to be held in five states on March 10.” Hem Securities.
Read also | Sensex, Nifty fall over 2%; Crude oil above $130 per barrel