Sensex tanks 1,540 points, Nifty drops 460 points on deepening Russia-Ukraine crisis

New Delh: Markets opened deep into the red on Thursday amidst deepening Russia-Ukraine crisis that continued to dent investor sentiment.

In early morning trade the BSE Sensex dropped 1546.47 points or 2.70 percent to 55,685.59 while the NSE Nifty skid 460.40 points or 2.70 percent to 16,602.85. All Sensex constituents were trading with hefty losses, with Airtel, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra and and SBI suffering the most dropping as much as 8 per cent. 

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.

Market gauges Sensex and Nifty extended their losing streak to the sixth session on Wednesday. The Sensex closed 68.62 points or 0.12 per cent lower at 57,232.06 and the Nifty ended 28.95 points or 0.12 per cent down at 17,063.25.