Sensex crashes over 1,000 pts in opening deals, Nifty falls below 17,000-mark

The benchmark equity indices on the BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE) opened with around 2 per cent cuts on Tuesday taking cues from the weakness in the global market as investors dumped equities across the board due to an escalation in Russia-Ukraine tensions.

Tracking deep losses in other Asian bourses, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading 1,015 points (1.76 per cent) lower at 56,668.60, while the Nifty 50 tumbled 285.40 points (1.66 per cent) lower at 16,921.25.

All the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in the red during the early trade. Dr. Reddy’s, L&T, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, TCS, HDFC and Asian Paints were the top laggards with over 2 per cent losses.

Global stocks tumbled while safe havens rallied, and oil surged on Tuesday as Europe's eastern flank stood on the brink of war after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine. Analysts said that domestic markets opened sharply lower in line with negative Asian markets as also sharply lower US equities.

Meanwhile, the rupee declined 24 paise to 74.79 against the US dollar in opening trade on Tuesday, amid weak risk appetite as tensions escalated in the eastern Europe.

According to PTI report, forex traders said sustained foreign fund outflows, a lacklustre trend in domestic equities and elevated crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiment. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 74.71 against the US dollar, then slipped further to 74.79, registering a decline of 24 paise from the last close.