210: Top News Podcast: NATO summit on Russia-Ukraine war on Feb 25; stock market crashes; oil surges past $100 and more

Russia declared war on Ukraine on Thursday and its effects are being felt across the world. Russian forces invaded Ukraine by land, air, and sea hitting cities and bases with airstrikes or shelling, as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee. This is the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two.

As tensions escalated, global stock markets bled and oil prices soared to multi-year highs.

In this edition of Top News Podcast, CNBCTV18.com’s Kanishka Sarkar shares the latest o the ongoing war, how the crisis is impacting the domestic market, what the govt is planning to evacuate Indians from Ukraine, and more.

Both Sensex and Nifty50 ended almost 5 percent lower with all sectors witnessing losses. Sensex was down 2,700 points at 54,530 and Nifty50 gave up more than 800 points to settle at 16,248. India VIX, the fear gauge that indicates the volatility in the market, jumped to a 20-month high of 32, up 33 percent.

All oil and gas and energy stocks ended in the red. While GAIL, BPCL, Adani Green, Indraprastha Gas, and Tata Power fell in the range of 6 to 9 percent, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited shares ended more than 10 percent lower.

Brent crude rose above $104 a barrel, its highest level since August 2014 and the largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin dropped below $30,000 on the back of geopolitical tensions.

As the markets crash, experts suggest keeping some cash in hand. Nilesh Shah of Envision Capital told CNBC-Tv18 that there could be another 5-10 percent decline in the next few days given the uncertainty. He said SIP is clearly a disciplined approach to investing and that is something that should be kept intact.

Meanwhile, NATO has announced that it will take additional steps to strengthen the alliance's deterrence and defence after Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine and hold an emergency summit of its 30 member nations on Friday.

Back home, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the situation arising out of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The meeting will prioritise evacuation strategy for the Indians stranded in Ukraine, sources said.

Separately, sources have indicated India may resume regular international flights around March 15-20. The flights were suspended for almost two years after the pandemic broke out.

On the economy front, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today released the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. The panel expects inflation to peak in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal. RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said the renewed surge in international crude oil prices will require close monitoring.

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