Global stocks are down at the start of the week as tensions increase over Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine and the US warns of an impending invasion.
This comes in the midst of rising inflation and the possibility of strong Federal Reserve interest-rate rises to contain it.
The main equity indexes on the BSE and NSE recovered little from their early lows and were trading more than 1.7% down during morning trade on Monday, drawing cues from their global peers, which plunged due to mounting geopolitical concerns.
At 10:31 a.m., the S&P BSE Sensex was down 1,019.30 points (1.75 percent) at 57,133.62, while the Nifty 50 was down 312.30 points at 17,062.45. (1.80 per cent). Earlier in the day, both topline indexes began more than 2% down and fell more than 2.6 percent in early trade, with the 30-share BSE benchmark recording a low of 56,612.07 and the wider Nifty dipping 16,916.55.
On the Sensex, HDFC, Tata Steel, State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI bank, IndusInd Bank, Ultratech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) were the top laggards, while Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was the single gainer.
The broader markets also experienced strong declines, in line with the benchmarks. The BSE MidCap and SmallCap indexes fell 1.76 percent and 2%, respectively.
The Nifty PSU Bank index was the main loser, down 3%, followed by the Nifty Bank, Financial Services, Metals, Realty, and Auto indexes, all of which were down 2-2.6 percent. The Nifty IT and Pharma were down 0.14 and 0.7%, respectively.
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) shares set a new 32-month high of Rs 176.40 after surging 5% on the BSE in intra-day trade on Monday, as oil prices touched their highest in more than seven years on worries of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the state-owned oil exploration and production business recorded a nearly seven-fold increase in net profit in the December quarter (Q3FY22) as higher oil and gas prices offset a reduction in output.
The stock outperformed its previous high of Rs 174.80 set on January 31, 2022. It was trading at its highest level since May of this year. At 10:11 a.m., ONGC was trading 2% higher at Rs 171.10, compared to a 1.9 percent decrease in the S&P BSE Sensex.
