Market Crash: Sensex Tanks Over 1,700 Points, Nifty Sinks Below 16,900

New Delhi: The key Indian equities benchmark, Sensex and Nifty, plunged sharply on Monday, extending fall to the second straight session amid a global sell-off across all sectors.

The Monday crash was a worst one-day sell-off in the calendar year 2022 due to escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia. The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 1,747 points (3 per cent) to close at 56,406, while the broader NSE Nifty settled 532 points lower at 16,843.

Asian shares also traded in deep red, after concerns that Russia may soon invade Ukraine, which sent oil prices to seven-year peaks. Oil rates surged towards $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices slipped 3.5 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively.

Asian shares fell as warnings Russia could invade Ukraine at any time sent oil prices to seven-year peaks. The United States on Sunday said Russia might create a surprise pretext for an attack, as it reaffirmed a pledge to defend ‘every inch’ of NATO territory.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, barring TCS (up 1.05 per cent), all other stocks slipped in to the red, led by SBI, IndusInd, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, L&T, M&M, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Maruti, and others.

Investors have lost more than Rs 8.50 lakh crore in a day after the crash on Dalal Street, with the market capitalisation of the BSE-listed companies falling to Rs 255.36 lakh crore from Friday's Rs 263.90-lakh crore mark.

All the 15 sector gauges, compiled by the National Stock Exchange, settled in the red. Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Metal underperformed the index by diving as much as 5.95 per cent and 5.06 per cent, respectively.

In the previous session, Sensex had plunged 773 points to close at 58,153 on Friday, while Nifty had settled 231 points lower at 17,375.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said, "US stocks closed sharply lower on Friday as heightened concern that Russia may soon invade Ukraine sent oil prices spiking and investors to dump risky assets like equities". Investors also weighed a sharp drop in consumer sentiment and a pickup in near-term inflation expectations, he added.

Meanwhile, the rupee plunged by 22 paise to close at 75.58 (provisional) against the US currency on Monday, as geopolitical tensions pushed investors towards safe-haven assets.

Forex traders said a lacklustre trend in domestic equities and elevated crude oil prices weighed on the local unit.