Russia-Ukraine War Starts: Indian Investors Lose Rs 8 Lakh Crore In 60 Mins, Stocks Crumble

The ripple effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has already reached India, its stock markets to be specific.

Investor Wealth Takes A Deep Dive

Investors’ wealth fell by more than Rs 8 lakh crore in less than an hour of trade on Thursday.

At close of trade on Wednesday, the market capitalisation was at Rs 2,55,68,668.33 crore- a wealth erosion of more than Rs 8.2 lakh crore.

Market capitalisation is an indicator of notional wealth of investors.

Market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies crashed to Rs 2,47,46,960.48 crore this morning as investors’ fears mount due to escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

Gainers And Losers

Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank and Tech Mahindra were the top losers on Sensex, falling up to 3.96%. All Sensex constituents were trading in the red.

Top Sensex gainers were Kotak Bank, Titan and IndusInd Bank, rising up to 2.49 per cent.

Domestic equity gauges Sensex and Nifty crashed over 3% in early morning deals on Thursday following massive selloffs in global share markets in response to the news.

Sensex And Nifty Down

At 1.15 pm, Sensex was down 1,926 points to 55,305. The broader Nifty was at 16,483, down 580 points.

Amid negative market sentiment, mid cap and small cap counters took a major hit by 576 points and 804 points respectively.

Volatility rose in the Indian equity market, with India VIX climbing 22.39% to 30.16 in early trade.

Putin Invades Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday launched his military operation in Ukraine in a televised address, triggering fears worldwide of a major multi-national armed conflict

After the address reports of explosions and missile strikes at key Ukraine cities began to emerge.

Putin blamed the Ukrainian “regime” for the bloodshed that lies ahead.

Warnings To Western Powers

He further warned other countries to not interfere or else they will face “consequences they have never seen”.

US President Joe Biden said that Russia will be held accountable for the “unprovoked” and “unjustified” attack on Ukraine.

He said that the US and its allies will respond in a “united and decisive” way.

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