India's key indices – S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 – opened 0.5 percent lower on Tuesday, 8 March, as Russia and Ukraine make no headway in peace talks and record oil prices keep investors on edge.
As on 10 am on Tuesday, Sensex shed 432.36 points to 52,410.39 while NIFTY dips 115.75 points to 15,747.40 in opening trade.
Among NIFTY 50 companies, Hindalco, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Maruti Suzuki, and HDFC Bank were the top losers in the early trade while while NTPC, Power Grid Corporation of India, TCS, Tech Mahindra, and Sun Pharma were the top gainers.
The Indian rupee was trading near its all-time lows of about 77 against the dollar early on Tuesday after plunging to its lowest against the US dollar amid the surging oil prices. On Monday, the rupee opened at 76.94 against the US dollar.
"The Indian rupee has plummeted to a lifetime low against the US dollar as the deepening Russia-Ukraine conflict has sapped risk appetite in the market while prompting safe-haven flows into the US dollar," Sugandha Sachdeva, Vice President for Commodity and Currency Research at Religare Broking, told PTI.
'Imminent Higher Inflation'
"Nifty is down 15 percent from the peak. All commodities have surged indicating imminent higher inflation. Even though the market is now oversold, sentiments are negative," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, as per news agency IANS.
On Monday, oil prices soared just shy of $140 a barrel after the White House announced that it is considering an embargo on Russian supplies. The rising trend of oil prices is expected to trigger an inflationary trend and ultimately a reversal in monetary policy stand.
(With inputs from PTI, IANS)
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