 The markets rout has led to over Rs 11.28 lakh crores being wiped out of investors' wealth, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict intensifies, and so does the response from the Western countries, which led to a sharp decline in domestic equities.
Global crude prices soared to above $130 a barrel, the highest level since July 2008 after news that the US and its European allies were considering a ban on Russian oil imports and delays in Iranian talks triggered tight supply fears.
With the sentiment remaining sour, sliding for the fourth straight day on Monday, the BSE benchmark Sensex crashed 1,491 points, and the Nifty settled below 15,900.
"Taking cues from the global markets where we saw a sharp surge in the crude oil, the Indian markets started with a huge gap down and traded with a negative bias," said Ruchit Jain, Lead Research at 5paisa.com.
"Traders are advised to watch out for global cues and avoid aggressive trading until the volatility settles down," he added.
In line with the heavy sell-off in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies plunged by Rs 11,28,214.05 crores in four days to stand at Rs 2,41,10,831.04 crore, according to a Press Trust of India (PTI) report.
In the four sessions, the BSE benchmark has shed 3,404.53 points or 6.05 per cent.
"Markets plunged sharply lower and lost over 2 per cent, tracking a continuous surge in crude and feeble global cues. Markets are rattled with a sharp surge in crude amid fear of further sanctions on Russia. Besides, there's no sign of de-escalation of tension between the two nations," Ajit Mishra, Vice President for Research at Religare Broking, told PTI.
"In short, we expect volatility to remain high and suggest keeping a close watch on global markets for cues. On the domestic front, state elections exit polls and actual results on March 10 would be actively tracked," he added.
From the 30-share Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra were the biggest drags, tumbling up to 7.63 per cent. Among BSE sectoral indices, realty, bank, finance and auto finished with deep cuts.
In contrast, Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel and Infosys settled in the green.
In March, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pulled out Rs 17,537 crores from Indian markets in just three trading sessions, tracking the Ukraine war.
"Spiking crude oil prices above the $130 barrel sends the benchmarks deep down with Nifty cracking by 2.35 per cent. Also, FIIs (foreign institutional investors) selling has reached above their selling during the global financial crisis," said Prashanth Tapse, Vice President for Research at Mehta Equities. |
