Indices fall for 5th day; Sensex cracks 703 pts, Nifty gives up 17,000

CLOSING BELL: Reliance Industries (RIL; up 3.5 per cent) was the top gainer on the 30-pack index. he draggers on the index were HDFC (down 6 per cent), HDFC Bank (down 4.2 per cent)

CLOSING BELL

A sudden sell-off during the fag-end of the session drove the markets down for a fifth straight day on Tuesday. Domestic and global markets were hit hard today after Ukraine said on Monday that a long-expected offensive push into the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine has started, with intensified assaults in the north and east of the country.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex plunged 1,183 points from the day's high and settled 703 points down at 56,463 levels. The index had hit an intra-day low of 56,009 level.  

The NSE Nifty50, on the other hand, broke below the psychological level of 17,000 and ended at 16,959, down 215 points. Both the indices slipped 1.2 per cent each.

Reliance Industries (RIL; up 3.5 per cent) and ICICI Bank (up 0.16 per cent) were the only gainer on the 30-pack index. The draggers on the index were HDFC (down 6 per cent), HDFC Bank (down 4.2 per cent), ITC, Tech M, Infosys, Nestle India, and HCL Tech.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices declined up to 1.2 per cent. Sectorally, the Nifty Realty, FMCG, and IT indices slipped 3.5 per cent each, followed by the Nifty Financial Services index (down 2.5 per cent).

Global markets

European stocks were lower on Tuesday, with investors' attention focused on the latest developments in the war between Russia and Ukraine. The pan-European Stoxx 600 slid 0.8 per cent in early trade. On Wall Street, futures linked to all the main three indices were down between 0.14 per cent and 0.4 per cent.

4:06 PM

US equity futures trade on a negative note

4:02 PM

Rupee weakens 19 paise against US dollar

3:56 PM

Closing bell: Over 1,500 stocks declined whereas 508 advanced

3:51 PM

Closing bell: HDFC Twins, HDFC Life, SBI Life top Nifty 50 losers

3:47 PM

Closing bell: Apollo Hospitals, Coal India, RIL top Nifty 50 gainers

3:42 PM

Closing bell: Nifty IT worst sectoral loser; Mindtree, L&T Infotech nosedive below 8%

3:39 PM

Closing bell: Broader markets subdued; India Vix spikes over 2%

3:36 PM

Closing bell: All sectors drown in red; IT, FMCG stocks bleed

3:34 PM

Closing bell: Only 2 out of 30 Sensex stocks close in green

3:33 PM

Closing bell: Sensex sheds over 700 points

3:32 PM

Closing bell: Nifty 50 sinks below 16,900 levels

3:25 PM

Sensex heatmap: Only 2 out of 30 stocks hold gains

3:14 PM

Trading strategies for beaten down HDFC twins, bank stocks

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3:07 PM

Bears tighten grip :: Sensex slides nearly 500 pts in a sudden sell-off

2:55 PM

IT stocks extend decline; L&T Infotech, Mindtree slump over 5%