Weekly market wrap: Sensex tumbles 1,974 points as Russia invades Ukraine

It turned out to be a disappointing week for the domestic equity market as the benchmark equity indices tanked over 3 per cent amid an escalation of crisis between Russia and Ukraine. The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 1,974.45 points to 55,858.52 on February 25 against 57,832.97 on February 18. Likewise, the 50-share NSE Nifty index declined 617.90 points to 16,658.40 during the same period.

Meanwhile, sentiment also dented further after the price of Brent crude oil crossed $105 per barrel on Thursday, stoking inflation fears in oil-importing countries like India. However, heavy buying on the last day of the week capped the downside.

As many as 46 companies in the Nifty index ended the week in the red. With a fall of 9.92 per cent, Bharat Petroleum Corporation declined the most. UPL, HDFC Life Insurance, Grasim Industries, SBI Life Insurance, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Consultancy Services, Indian Oil Corporation, Tata Motors and State Bank of India also retreated over 6 per cent during the week gone by. On the other hand, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Cipla, Power Grid and Hindalco advanced between 0.70 per cent and 1.80 per cent.

Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services said, “Russia’s Ukraine invasion was a big surprise for the world market, as it was not anticipating a war resulting in a bloodbath on the global bourses. Though the market was volatile initially it was expecting a diplomatic end to the crisis. Rising crude oil prices also worsened sentiments. As global tension increased, FIIs continued to offload holdings adding to further volatility in Indian equities.”

Sector-wise, the BSE Telecom and Oil & Gas indices cracked over 5 per cent each in the past five trading sessions. BSE Auto, FMCG, Teck, Realty and IT indices also declined somewhere between 3 per cent and 5 per cent. Broader indices including the BSE Midcap and Smallcap slipped 2.56 per cent and 4.68 per cent, respectively.

The coming week also marks the start of a fresh month and is expected to be a data-heavy week starting with the release of Infrastructure Output data for January on February 28. In stock-specific activity, auto and cement companies would grab some attention, as these companies will declare their monthly sales figures in the forthcoming week. Also, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for the third quarter of FY22, will be released on February 28.

Traders will also be looking forward Markit Manufacturing PMI, scheduled to be released on March 2. The IHS Markit India Manufacturing PMI was down to 54.0 in January 2022 from 55.5 in December 2021.

On March 04, Markit Services PMI will also be going to released. The IHS Markit India Services PMI fell to 51.5 in January of 2022 from 55.5 in December 2021, below market expectations of 53 and pointing to the weakest reading since July, due to travel restrictions, amid surging Covid-19 cases and inflationary pressures.

“Going ahead investors will continue to remain cautious by keenly watching the developments in the Russia-Ukraine war. In such a volatile market a prudent approach is to have a balanced portfolio with a mix of equity, debt, gold, and cash. It is also a busy week in terms of the release of macroeconomic data points like domestic GDP and Manufacturing and Production PMI data,” Nair added.

On the global front, investors will be eyeing macro-economic reports from the world’s largest economy, United States, starting with wholesale Inventories, Chicago on February 28, followed by Redbook, Markit Manufacturing PMI, Dallas Fed Services Index, President Biden State of the Union Speech March 1, Fed Beige Book, Initial Jobless Claims, Markit Services PMI Final on March 3 and finally Unemployment Rate, Baker Hughes Oil Rig Count on March 4.

Also Read: Love in the time of war: Russian troops send Tinder requests to Ukrainian women

Also Read: NSE co-location case: CBI gets custody of Anand Subramanian till March 6