Stock Market: Sensex Sheds 461 Points, Nifty Ends Below 18,300 Amid Weak Global Cues. PSU Banks Sink 3%

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Dr Reddy's Labs, M&M, Asian Paints, SBI, TCS, Titan, Power Grid, and Ultratech Cement fell the most among the 27 losers within the Sensex pack

Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Friday plunged sharply as selling pressure across sectors intensified after reports of fresh Russian attacks on Ukrainian soil emerged. On the backdrop of the conflict, recession fears in the US and Europe, coupled with growth slowdown triggers panic among investors.

The S&P BSE Sensex dropped 461 points (0.75 per cent) to settle at 61,338. On the other hand, the Nifty50 slumped 146 points (0.79 per cent) to end at 18,269. All sectors were closed in the red.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Dr Reddy's Labs, M&M, Asian Paints, SBI, TCS, Titan, Power Grid, and Ultratech Cement fell the most among the 27 losers within the Sensex pack. Adani Ports, BPCL, Bajaj Auto, and Hero MotoCorp were the additional laggards on the Nifty.

On the flip side, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, HUL, and Tata Steel were the only large-cap gainers on the benchmark indices.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index declined 1.4 per cent, while the BSE SmallCap index dipped 0.9 per cent.

Among sectors, the Nifty PSU Bank index sunk the most, down nearly 3 per cent. This was followd by losses in the Nifty Realty, Pharma, and Media indices, down over 1 per cent each.

In the previous trading on Thursday, the S&P BSE Sensex was closed at 61,799, down 879 points, while the broader NSE Nifty was down by 245 points to 18,415.

European markets were marginally down Friday as investors processed the raft of central bank decisions announced Thursday. The Stoxx 600 was down 0.9 per cent early morning, with all sectors and major bourses posting losses. On Wall Street, Dow Jones Futures were down over 300 points, or 1 per cent, in pre-market deals. S&P500 and Nasdaq futures, too, fell 1 per cent each.

Meanwhile, the rupee dropped 9 paise to close at 82.85 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday amid heavy selling pressure in domestic equities and a strong greenback overseas. However, receding crude oil prices capped the rupee's loss, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened sharply lower at 82.84 against the greenback and witnessed a high of 82.73 and a low of 82.89. It finally settled at 82.85 against the greenback, down 9 paise over its previous close of 82.76.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 2.29 per cent to $79.35 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net sellers in capital markets on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 710.74 crore, according to exchange data.