D-street bloodbath: Sensex tanks over 2,700 points as Russia invades Ukraine

New Delhi: Indian stock markets ended in the red on Thursday in line with global market meltdown. 

The BSE Sensex tanked over 2,702.15 points to end at 54,529.91 while the Nifty tumbles 815.30 points to 16,247.95 amidst deepening Russia-Ukraine crisis that continued to dent investor sentiment.

On the Sensex chart, all 30 shares suffered heavy losses, with IndusInd Bank, M&M and Bajaj Finance shedding as much as 8 per cent.

The Rupee plummets 109 paise to close at 75.70 (provisional) against US dollar as Russia announces military operation in Ukraine. Gold as well as crude oil prices surged, with the latter even crossing the USD 103 per barrel mark.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to consequences they have never seen. He said the attack was needed to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine a claim the US had predicted he would falsely make to justify an invasion.

Continuing their selling spree, foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth Rs 3,417.16 crore in the Indian capital markets on Wednesday, exchange data showed.