Sensex Plunges, Investors Wealth Of Rs 8 Lakh Crores Gone As Russia-Ukraine Tensions Mount

Benchmark indices plunged in trade on mounting tensions between Ukraine and Russia. The Sensex fell a massive 1000 points as Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine after announcing Monday evening that he would recognize their independence.
This sent crude prices soaring by 3%, while global markets plunged on the news of escalating tensions.

The Nifty joined the Sensex lower with deep cuts of 280 points. This is the second week in a row markets are extremely volatile to geopolitical tensions.

Almost all of the Nifty stocks were deep in the red, with the Bank Nifty falling sharply by over 2%. If tensions mount, analysts see an even further downside risks to the market. Tata Steel, TCS and UPL were among the top losers in trade.

"Nifty has been trading in a broader range of 16,800-17,400 for the last one month and needs a decisive breakout on either side for a clear direction," says Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal.

Most of the Sesex constituents were in the red led by losses in Dr Reddy's, Asian Paints, TCS, L&T, IndusInd Bank, HDFC twins, Bajaj Finserv, down 2-3 per cent. Among the midcap stocks, diagnostic player Thyrocare was an outperformer in a highly weak market, trading 1.5 per cent higher after the company's parent API Holdings got SEBI's nod for its online retail player PharmEasy's Rs 6250 crore-IPO.

Back in Asia, the Hong Kong's Hang Sang lost 3%, while the Japanese Nikkei was down more than 2%. Investors are advised to stay on the sidelines as markets are expected to be exceedingly volatile.