The Sensex and Nifty lurched lower for the third day running on Friday, in lockstep with global equities, as risk-off sentiment prevailed amid Russia stepping up its military offensive against Ukraine. A depreciating rupee, elevated oil prices and heavy selling by foreign investors also contributed to the decline, traders said.
The 30-share BSE Sensex opened weak and slumped over 1,200 points to the day's low of 53,887.72, before recouping some losses to close at 54,333.81, down by 768.87 points or 1.40 per cent.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slumped 252.70 points or 1.53 per cent to end at 16,245.35. Titan, Maruti Suzuki, Asian Paints, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finance and Axis Bank were the biggest drags on the Sensex, tumbling up to 5.05 per cent. In contrast, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, ITC, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharma and Wipro were among the gainers, spurting as much as 2.95 per cent. Market breadth was negative, with 23 of the 30 Sensex counters closing in the red.
"Global bourses are witnessing a sharp sell-off as reports of Russian attack on Europe's biggest nuclear plant in Ukraine kept tension levels elevated. Rising oil prices along with uncertainties on supply chain disruption have instilled fears that inflation could cross RBI's tolerance level, though temporarily," according to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.