Indian benchmark indices registered their seventh straight session fall on February 24 with the Nifty breaching the 16,300-mark amid the escalating Russia-Ukraine crisis. At close, the Sensex was down 2,702.15 points or 4.72% at 54,529.91, while the Nifty stood at 16,248 levels, down 815.30 points or 4.78%.
Oil-linked stocks tumble | Oil & gas stocks crashed on February 24 as global crude oil prices hit the $ 100-mark for the first time since 2014 as traders feared further sanctions that could hit Russia’s crude oil export. Global oil prices have jumped over 30 percent since November on a sharp increase in demand due to the reopening of global economies as the COVID-19 pandemic subsided on higher vaccination rates. BSE oil and gas fell over 5 percent dragged by Gujarat Gas which was down over 7 percent followed by Indraprastha Gas, Petronet LNG, BPCL, GAIL India, HPCL, and Reliance Industries which were down over 4-6 percent each.
Indus Towers | CMP: Rs 205 | The share price dipped over 18 percent as Vodafone Plc on February 23 announced that it would sell a 2.4 percent stake in Indus Towers via a block deal to telecom major Bharti Airtel. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Group are the company’s promoters. Vodafone holds about 28 percent while Bharti Airtel holds close to 42 percent in Indus Towers.
L&T Finance Holdings | CMP: Rs 62.10 | The scrip fell 11 percent after Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius and CBNA London offloaded 4.88 percent equity stake in the company via open market transactions on February 21. With this, their shareholding now stands at 3.87 percent, down from 8.75 percent earlier.
Sanofi India | CMP: Rs 7,150 | The stock ended in the red on February 24. The company in an exchange filing said that the final dividend of Rs 181 per equity share for the year ended December 2021 has been approved by the board of directors. The company has also declared a special dividend of Rs 309 per share for the year, it said in an exchange filing.
VIP Clothing | CMP: Rs 21.55 | The share price was down 5 percent after promoter Lalita Jaykumar Pathare sold more than 5.83 lakh equity shares, representing 0.7 percent of total paid-up equity, via open market transactions on the NSE. The stake has been sold at an average price of Rs 22.98 per share. Lalita had held 12.48 percent stake in the company as of December 2021.
