BENGALURU: Indian shares led sharp losses in Asia and the rupee suffered its worst session in more than 10 months on Thursday, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent oil prices soaring and fanned inflation fears.

Russian forces invaded Ukraine by land, air and sea, confirming the worst fears of the West with the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two, sending global markets into a tailspin.

Heavy losses across sectors drove the blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index 4.78% lower to 16,247.95, while the S&P BSE Sensex slid 4.72% to 54,529.91. Both indexes marked their worst session since May 2020 when the pandemic had roiled markets.

The Indian stock market was the worst performer in Asia on Thursday and clocked its worst losing streak since March 2020, with seven straight sessions of losses.

The rupee weakened 1.5% to 75.65 against the dollar, compared with Wednesday’s close of 74.555.

“The looming risk of this (Ukraine) crisis is no more there, it is a reality today,” said Aishvarya Dadheech, a fund manager at Ambit Asset Management, adding that a rise in commodity prices and inflation could adversely impact the country.