Sensex, Nifty Decline For Second Straight Session On Fresh Tensions Between Russia, Ukraine

The Indian equity benchmarks erased early gains to end lower for second straight session as investor sentiment was shaken after fresh geopolitical tensions emerged between Ukraine and Russia. Russian news agency Sputnik reported that Ukraine violated ceasefire after Ukrainian Armed Forces fired mortar shells and grenades on self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic at 2:30 am GMT. Meanwhile, heightened volatility during the session owing to weekly expiry of index futures and option contracts also added to the risk sentiment, analysts said.

The Sensex declined 105 points to close at 57,892 and Nifty 50 index dropped 18 points to settle at 17,305.

"We are just mirroring global counterparts and seeing reaction on updates around the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Since there's no clear indication over the next directional move yet, participants should stay light and prefer hedged approach," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking.

The militia of the Lugansk People's Republic stated that the situation in the region has deteriorated significantly over the past day, as Kiev is trying to escalate the conflict. The republic urged international observers to record the attack and take measures to prevent aggression by Ukraine.

Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian military fired mortar shells and grenades at four localities in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (at 2:30 a.m. GTM on Thursday), according to the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination, Sputnik reported.

Thirteen of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended lower led by the Nifty Bank index's over 1 per cent fall. Nifty IT, Financial Services, Media, Pharma, PSU Bank, Private Bank and Healthcare indices also fell between 0.5-1.4 per cent.

On the other hand, oil & gas and select FMCG shares witnessed buying interest.

Mid- and small-cap shares also faced selling pressure as Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 0.37 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index dropped over 1 per cent.

ICICI Bank was top Nifty loser, the stock fell 2.15 per cent to close at Rs 748. Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank, UPL, Grasim Industries, Adani Ports, Shree Cement, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bharti Airtel also fell between 0.8-2 per cent.

On the flipside, Tata Consumer Products, HDFC, ONGC, Reliance Industries, HDFC Life, Hindalco, Hindustan Unilever and Power Grid were among the gainers.

The overall market breadth was negative as 2,057 shares ended lower while 1,313 closed higher on the BSE.