Markets slumps over 1% amid Russia-Ukraine conflict; Sensex drops over 700 points, Nifty Below 16,650; ICICI Bank, Maruti, Bajaj Auto stocks drag

2 Mar 2022 , 10:30 AM

Domestic equity market on Wednesday had a bleak start to the truncated week wherein the broader indices fell in the early trade amid weak cues. Also, investors turned cautious as the economic growth slowed to 5.4 per cent in the October-December quarter against an 8.5 per cent growth in the preceding quarter.

The benchmark BSE Sensex cracked 732 points or 1.30 per cent to 55,514; while the broader NSE Nifty fell 177 points or 1.06 per cent to 16,616.70. Mid-and small-cap shares were trading marginally higher as Nifty Midcap 100 index edged 0.03 per cent up and small-cap shares rose 0.08 per cent.

On the sectoral front, Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services were underperforming the index by slipping as much as 2.08 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively, however, Nifty Metal climbed as much as 2.83 per cent.

ICICI Bank was the top Nifty loser as the stock cracked 3.65 per cent, followed by Maruti, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Bank and Asian Paints were also among the laggards. Hindalco, Coal India, Tata Steel, ONGC and JSW Steel were trading in the green.

On BSE, the overall market breadth was positive as 1,499 shares were advancing while 1,125 were declining.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks came under renewed pressure and oil prices jumped on worries about the impact of aggressive sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine sank shares in Europe and on Wall Street.

Overnight, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes closed about 1.6 per cent lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped nearly 1.8 per cent.

Further, Brent crude futures climbed $3.55, or 3.4 per cent, to $108.52 a barrel, scaling highs not seen since July 2014.