Sensex, Nifty at day`s low; breadth weak

Equity indices hit the day`s low as selling pressure continued in mid afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 16,400 mark. All the sectoral indices on the NSE were in the red with auto banking and media stocks losing the most.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 2,157.08 points or 3.77% at 55,074.33. The Nifty 50 index slumped 673.9 points or 3.95% at 16,389.1

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index skid 4.91%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index dropped 5.4%.

Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 218 shares rose and 3,153 shares fell. A total of 87 shares were unchanged.

Trading sentiment took a hit after Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a public address that he had authorized a military operation in Ukraine. Later the media reported explosions were heard in Kyiv. Putin appealed to Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their arms and go home. He said Russia doesn`t plan to �occupy� its southern neighbour, but that Russia must �defend itself from those who took Ukraine hostage� -- the U.S. and its allies who had crossed Russia`s �red line� with expansion of the NATO alliance.

India has called for an immediate de-escalation of tensions between Russia and Ukraine. India`s Permanent Representative UN, TS Tirumurti cautioned that the situation is in danger of spiraling into a major crisis. He was addressing an emergency meeting of UN Security Council held on Ukraine this morning. This was the second meeting of UNSC this week and the fourth since January 31 as tensions escalated between Russia and Ukraine. Tirumurti emphasized sustained and focused diplomacy to address all issues concerning the situation.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a direct appeal to President Putin to stop Russian troops from attacking Ukraine.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index slumped 5.48% to 10,699.85, extending its losing run to seventh consecutive trading session. The auto index has dropped 7.38% in seven days.

Hero MotoCorp (down 7.93%), Tata Motors (down 7.69%), Ashok Leyland (down 6.13%), Balkrishna Industries (down 5.92%) and Maruti Suzuki India (down 5.81%) were the top losers. Among the other losers were Mahindra & Mahindra (down 5.12%), Bosch (down 4.43%), Tube Investments of India (down 4%) and MRF (down 3.51%).

Numbers to Track:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.771% as compared with 6.739% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 75.32, compared with its close of 74.6150 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2022 settlement surged 2.47% to Rs 51,625.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.52% at 96.69.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2022 settlement jumped $5.34 or 5.68% to $99.35 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia tumbled on Thursday as investors continue to watch the escalating situation between Russia and Ukraine.

The Bank of Korea kept interest rates unchanged at 1.25% at its meeting on Thursday. However, it predicted that consumer price inflation will run "substantially above 3% for a considerable time."

Ukraine warned its citizens against traveling to Russia and to leave the neighboring country, if they are there. Meanwhile, the UK said that it was ready to impose more sanctions on Russia.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration announced it will allow sanctions to move forward on the company in charge of building Russia`s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, following a first tranche of sanctions against Russia Tuesday that targets Russian banks, the country`s sovereign debt and three individuals.

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