Sensex Falls 383 pts, Nifty Settles Near 17,100 Amid Russia-Ukraine Tensions; VIX Surges 16%

The key benchmark indices staged a smart recovery in the last hour of trade as fag-end buying emerged in HDFC, M&M, Infosys, Kotak Bank, and Bajaj Finserv. That said, the markets ended lower for a fifth consecutive day today as the geo-political tension between Russia and Ukraine remained volatile. At close, the Sensex was down 382.91 points or 0.66 per cent at 57300.68, and the Nifty was down 114.50 points or 0.67 per cent at 17092.20. About 684 shares have advanced, 2589 shares declined, and 82 shares are unchanged.

Tata Steel, TCS, BPCL, Tata Motors and SBI Life Insurance were the top Nifty losers. Gainers included M&M, Bajaj Finserv, Eicher Motors, Hindalco Industries and ONGC. All the sectoral indices ended in the red with IT, metal, oil & gas, capital goods, FMCG, realty and PSU bank indices down 1-2 per cent. BSE midcap and smallcap indices fell 0.7-1.6 per cent.

Sectorally, all the key indices ended with losses. The Nifty Realty index was the worst hit, down 3 per cent, followed by the Nifty Pharma, IT, Metal, and Bank indices, down between 1 and 1.5 per cent.

What changed the market sentiment after opening in the deep red zone on Tuesday morning is the decision by Russian President Vladimir Putin to order forces into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine has drawn international condemnation, with many world leaders threatening economic sanctions and others decrying a violation of international law. While fears of sanctions pushed the Brent crude above the $99 a barrel-mark, global equities and US stock futures recovered after reports suggested that establishment of Russian military base in eastern Europe “was not being discussed”.