Small caps most hit as Sensex records biggest fall in 10 mths

The benchmark Sensex crashed 1,747 points to 56,405.84 and the Nifty50 plunged 532 points to 16,842.80 in the sell-off led by finance, banking, metals and realty stocks.

By: ENS Economic Bureau

Mumbai | February 15, 2022 03:30 AM IST

2 min read

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The small-cap index fell by 4.15 per cent in the selling avalanche. (File)

Domestic stock markets on Monday plummeted 3 per cent — the biggest fall in 10 months — as mounting fears of an imminent Russian attack on Ukraine triggered a global share sell-off and prompted oil prices to hit a seven-year high. The benchmark Sensex crashed 1,747 points to 56,405.84 and the Nifty50 plunged 532 points to 16,842.80 in the sell-off led by finance, banking, metals and realty stocks.

The small-cap index fell by 4.15 per cent in the selling avalanche. Among major losers, Tata Steel was 5.49 per cent, HDFC 5.33 per cent, SBI 5.20 per cent and ICICI Bank 4.73 per cent. TCS which rose one per cent was the only gainer among large-cap shares as the company fixed February 23 as the record date for its share buyback.

The rupee plunged by 24 paise to close at 75.60 against the US currency as geopolitical tensions pushed investors towards safe-haven assets. Markets are worried that crude oil which is inching towards the $ 100 mark per barrel will push up India’s import bill and put upward pressure on inflation.

According to analysts, global cues are now dictating the trend and the prevailing geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine combined with a steady uptick in crude is not going well with the participants. There were heavy falls across Europe, led by Germany’s Dax, which was down 3.7 per cent. Italy’s FTSE MiB, France’s Cac and Spain’s Ibex all fell by about 3.5 per cent.

At 9:58 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones was down 162.48 points, or 0.47%, at 34,575.58 while the Nasdaq was up 56.63 points, or 0.41%, at 13,847.79.

Oil eased on Monday from its highest in more than 7 years amid Ukraine-Russia tensions, as per a Reuters report. Brent crude rose 5 cents to $94.49 a barrel by 10:55 a.m. EST (1555 GMT), after touching its highest since October 2014 at $96.16.

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