The BSE benchmark Sensex plunged 1,747 points while the Nifty crashed below the 17,000-level on Monday as escalating Russia-Ukraine tensions sparked a retreat from riskier assets globally.
A depreciating rupee and foreign fund outflows added to the gloom, traders said.
Plunging for the second straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex nosedived 1,747.08 points or 3% to settle at 56,405.84. This was its biggest single-day drop since February 26, 2021.
On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty plummeted 531.95 points or 3.06% to 16,842.80 -- closing below the key 17,000-level for the first time this year.
The Sensex has now lost 2,520.19 points in just two sessions. Investors have lost more than ₹8.47 lakh crore in two days, with the market capitalisation of all BSE-listed firms standing at ₹2,55,42,725.42 crore.
On the Sensex chart, barring TCS, all shares closed with steep to moderate losses on Monday. Tata Steel was the biggest laggard, tumbling 5.49%, followed by HDFC, SBI, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank and Maruti.
"Increased tension between the U.S. and Russia over Ukraine sent oil prices rising and forced investors to dump risky assets. Risk sentiment was further dampened ahead of the Fed's emergency meeting which heightened fears of aggressive monetary tightening.
"On the domestic front, the annual WPI inflation eased marginally to 12.96% in January from 13.56% in December, but still high, amid moderation in the fuel and power prices," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking, said, "As anticipated, 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. After weeks of consolidation, we feel bears are now in a more commanding position and likely to push the index further lower." All 19 BSE sectoral indices suffered losses, with realty, metal and banking plummeting over 5%.
Broader smallcap, midcap and largecap indices shed as much as 4.15%.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses closed deep in the red after concerns that Russia may soon invade Ukraine, which also sent oil prices soaring.
Markets in Europe too were trading with heavy losses in the afternoon session.
The U.S. administration has become increasingly outspoken about its concerns that Russia will create a false pretext for the invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. has reaffirmed its commitment to defend "every inch" of the NATO territory.
Global crude oil benchmark Brent futures spiked over 1% to $95.44 per barrel on Monday.
The rupee plunged by 24 paise to close at 75.60 against the U.S. currency on Monday.
