Sensex, Nifty close lower after 2 sessions as Russia intensifies attack in Ukraine

Indian equity market snapped two sessions of gaining streak today following a broad-based selloff in global markets as the Russia-Ukraine crisis escalated. Sensex settled 778.38 points or 1.38 per cent lower at 55,468.90 and Nifty plunged 187.95 points or 1.12 per cent to 16,605.95.

Maruti Suzuki was the top Sensex loser, falling 6 per cent, followed by Dr Reddy's, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, HDFC and HDFC Bank. Tata Steel, Titan, Reliance and Nestle India were among the top Sensex gainers, rising up to 5.54 per cent.  

BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices lost 39 points and 31 points, respectively. On the sectoral front, banking and auto shares led the losses today. BSE bankex fell 938 points to 40,697 and BSE auto plunged 706 points to 23,909. BSE metal index was the top sectoral gainer, rising 951 points to 21,735.

Share Market updates: Sensex falls 778 pts, Nifty ends at 16,500; banking shares top losers

The market breadth was negative with 1692 shares ending higher against 1652 stocks in the red. 114 shares were unchanged.

Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services said, "Volatility is expected to remain high in near term given elevated Russia-Ukraine conflict, upcoming state election results as well as US Fed meeting. Further, market would watch out for developments on the Russia Ukraine talks. If the Russia-Ukraine conflict elongates and leads to elevated energy prices for longer, it may impact margins and earnings. We expect weakness in Nifty to continue until it is below its crucial 200 DEMA of 16,700 levels. However, on the downside, last week's low of 16200 may act as a strong support. Traders need to be cautious of sharp movements on either direction, while investors can use the current dip to gradually add quality blue chip companies in their portfolios."

Market cap of BSE-listed firms stood at Rs 251.52 lakh crore.

International oil benchmark Brent crude rose 6.59 per cent to a seven-year high of $111.56 per barrel after Russian intensified its attack on Ukraine.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 3,948 crore on February 28, according to stock exchange data.

Global markets

In early trading, the DAX in Frankfurt fell 1.4 per cent to 13,715.13 and the CAC 40 in Paris sank 1.2 per cent to 6,322.17. The FTSE 100 in London gained 0.2% to 7,346.15. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.8 per cent on Tuesday. The Nasdaq composite slid 1.6 per cent.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo lost 1.7 per cent to 26,393.03 and the Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.1 per cent to 3,484.19. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong sank 1.9 per cent to 22,334.14. In Seoul, the Kospi gained 0.5 per cent to 2,712.97.