The benchmark equity indices on the BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE) declined sharply as Sensex dipped 1,747.08 points to close at 56,405.84, and Nifty dived 531.95 points to 16,842.80, on Monday, 14 February.
This comes amid the crash of their global peers due to rising geopolitical tensions.
At 11:36 am, the NSE NIFTY 50 index fell 2.09 percent, or 351 points, to 17,010 while the S&P BSE index fell 2.15 percent, or 1,195 points, at 56,903.
"Sentiments have turned very negative for the short-term with the heightened tension over the Ukraine crisis. Weakness in global markets is the direct fallout of the Ukraine crisis. Crude at an eight-year high is another major macro concern for India," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, as reported by IANS.
He added, "If crude remains at levels of $95 a barrel for an extended period of time, the RBI will be forced to revise upwards its 4.5 per cent CPI inflation projection for FY23. Continuation of the accommodative monetary stance too will be difficult. While all these are negatives, diffusion of the Ukraine crisis can trigger a sharp rebound in markets led by large-cap blue chips."
Top laggards on the morning deals that fell over 2 percent include HDFC, Tata Steel, State Bank of India (SBI), Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M).
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was the sole gainer trading over 2 percent higher.
(With inputs from IANS.)
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