Amid escalating Russia-Ukraine tensions, investors' wealth tumbles Rs 86,742 cr as stocks plunge

 Investors' wealth tumbled Rs 86,741.74 crore on Wednesday, mirroring weakness in the global equity markets amid escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

The BSE benchmark Sensex slumped 1,227.18 points to 55,020.10 during the day in line with a global selloff. It finally settled at 55,468.90, lower by 778.38 points or 1.38 per cent.

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Surging crude prices and foreign capital outflows also weighed on investor sentiment.

The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies tanked Rs 86,741.74 crore to reach Rs 2,51,52,303.35 crore in tandem with the massive selloff.

Maruti was the top loser in the Sensex pack, falling 6 per cent, followed by Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, HDFC, HDFC Bank and UltraTech Cement.

"Indian markets had to face a double whammy situation today where geopolitical tension is a major headwind while a sharp surge in crude oil prices is a key risk for the Indian market because Brent Crude has crossed the USD 110 mark.

"If we look at the headline indices then the market was looking very weak but there was some buying in the broader market from lower levels," said Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika Investmart Ltd.

As of now, news flows related to the Russia-Ukraine crisis and movement in crude oil prices are the key dominating factors for the volatility in the market, he added.

"Markets traded volatile and lost over a percent amid feeble global cues. The news of war intensifying between Russia-Ukraine led to a weak start, which further deteriorated citing a sharp surge in crude oil prices," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

Equity markets were closed on Tuesday for Mahashivratri.

The 30-share BSE index on Monday had settled 388.76 points or 0.70 per cent higher at 56,247.28.