Indian Indices At 8-Month Low; Sensex Plunges 1,491 Points, Nifty Ends Below 15,900

New Delhi: The key domestic benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, on Monday plunged to their lowest levels in eight months extending fall for the fourth straight session amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

The 30-share BSE Sensex crashed 1,491 points (2.74 per cent) to close at 52,843; while the broader NSE Nifty moved 382 points (2.35 per cent) lower to settle at 15,863.

Investors worldwide remained worried as crude oil prices soared past $130 a barrel, the highest level since July 2008, heightening fears of higher domestic inflation. Oil prices soared after the US and European allies explored a Russian oil import ban.

Currently India imports more than two-thirds of its oil requirements, and higher rates push up the country’s trade and current account deficit, while also hurting the rupee and fuelling inflation.

Against these headwinds, the BSE Sensex slumped almost 2,000 points and hit a low of 52,367 in the intra-day trade. Later it recovered marginally on the back of buying in Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech, Infosys, ITC, and Tata Steel.

Midcap and smallcap shares finished on a negative note as Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 2.37 per cent lower and small-cap shares slipped 2.04 per cent.

Most of the sector gauges, compiled by the National Stock Exchange closed in the red. Nifty Bank, Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Auto underperformed the index by falling as much as 4.47 per cent, 4.28 and 4.21 per cent, respectively. However, Nifty Metal jumped 2.10 per cent.

Apart from the four gainers, Bharti Airtel, HCL, Tata Steel, and Infosys, on the Sensex platform, ONGC, Hindalco, Coal India, UPL, Cipla, ITC, NTPC, and JSW Steel were the additional gainers on the Nifty. Together these stocks were up in the range of 0.7 per cent to 13 per cent.

On the flipside, IndusInd Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Britannia, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Motors, Ultratech Cement, ICICI Bank, SBI, Hero Moto, HDFC, L&T, HUL, RIL, and HDFC Life sank between 3.5 per cent and 8 per cent. 

Investors’ wealth tumbled over Rs 5.61 lakh crore to Rs 241.17 lakh crore on Monday tracking a heavy sell-off in domestic equities.

In the previous session on Friday, Sensex had dived 769 points (1.40 per cent) to close at 54,334 on Friday; while Nifty had moved 253 points (1.53 per cent) lower to settle at 16,245.