Sensex Crashes Over 2,000 Points As Russia Attacks Ukraine; Nifty Below 16,450

New Delhi: The Indian equity indices plunged sharply on Thursday as investors turned cautious after Russia announced a military operation in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised a special military operation in Ukraine's Donbass region.

As of 1:29 pm, the benchmark BSE Sensex tanked 2,005 points or 3.50 per cent to 55,270; while the broader NSE Nifty moved 614 points or 3.52 per cent down to 16,448.

Asian share markets also slumped as Japan's Nikkei fell 2.17 per cent, South Korea's KOSPI was down 2.66 per cent and the Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.89 per cent.

Also, Brent oil surged to $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014 amid the Ukraine crisis.

Back home, mid-and small-cap shares were trading on a negative note as Nifty Midcap 100 index moved 2.65 per cent lower and small-cap shares shed 3.06 per cent.

All the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- were trading in red. Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Auto were underperforming the index by falling as much as 3.20 per cent and 2.71 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, Adani Ports was the top Nifty loser as the stock cracked 3.50 per cent to Rs 682. Tata Motors, Tata Steel, UPL and IndusInd Bank were also among the laggards.

Indus Towers Ltd plunged as much as 14.4 per cent, after Britain's Vodafone Group Plc said it was looking to sell its entire 28.1 per cent stake in the company.

On BSE, the overall market breadth was weak as 270 shares were advancing while 2,378 were declining.

Investors' wealth plummeted by more than Rs 8.75 lakh crore to Rs 2,46,93,772.06 crore.

On the 30-share BSE platform, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank and SBI attracted the most losses with their shares sliding as much as 3.96 per cent.

Sensex had slipped 69 points or 0.12 per cent to close at 57,232 on Wednesday; while Nifty had moved 29 points or 0.17 per cent lower to end at 17,063.