Sensex near 54K, Nifty at 16,200; auto, banks top drags

Indian indices slumped on Friday. Asian shares and US stock futures fell while oil prices jumped following reports of a fire in Ukraine nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe. At 11am, Sensex fell 1,159.01 pts to 53,943.67, Nifty was down 353.90 pts at 16,144.15.

Russia's military action and sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies are creating a range of risks. They include high raw material costs, damage to global confidence that can sap investment and the potential for credit stress to ripple through markets.