Sensex tanks over 1,400 points as Wall Street rout triggers global market meltdown; investors poorer by Rs 6.71 lakh-crore
Mumbai, May 19
Equity indices sank in a sea of red on Thursday, joining a global market sell-off after Wall Street suffered its worst drubbing since mid-2020 on renewed fears of scorching inflation crimping economic recovery.
Continued selling by foreign investors and the rupee sinking to another record low against the US dollar added to the woes.
Posting its biggest drop in over two months, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex dived 1,416.30 points or 2.61 per cent to settle at 52,792.23.
The broader NSE Nifty tanked 430.90 points or 2.65 per cent to 15,809.40.
Investors lost Rs 6.71 lakh-crore in Thursday’s session, with the market capitalisation of all BSE-listed companies falling to Rs 2,49,06,394.08 crore.
IT counters led the losses, with Wipro emerging as the biggest laggard in the Sensex pack with a fall of 6.21 per cent, followed by HCL Tech, Infosys, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
In contrast, ITC was the top gainer, spurting 3.43 per cent, after the company reported an 11.60 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 4,259.68 crore for the March quarter, driven by all-round growth across verticals.
Dr Reddy’s and PowerGrid were the only other winners.
“The recent earnings reported by the US retailers reflected the heat of high retail inflation, resulting in the rout in Wall Street. Persistent offloading by foreign investors along with mounting fears of an economic slowdown wreaked havoc in the domestic market.
“In this highly volatile market, investors can focus on sectors like FMCG, pharma, capital goods and manufacturing whose valuations are moderate and reasonable on a long term basis,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Stock markets in the US plummeted over 4 per cent on Wednesday after retail giants Target and Walmart came out with subdued numbers, reflecting the continued impact of soaring inflation on consumer spending.
“Deteriorating macro sentiments such as soaring inflation, recession fears, and the prospect of the Federal Reserve getting even more hawkish will continue to keep benchmarks on the edge.
“Another main reason for the pessimism can be attributed to relentless selling from the FII camp,” said Prashanth Tapse, Vice President (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.
In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge shed 2.66 per cent and the smallcap index declined 2.29 per cent.
All BSE sectoral indices ended lower, with IT tumbling the most at 5.25 per cent, followed by teck (5.11 per cent), metal (4.23 per cent), telecom (3.46 per cent) and basic materials (2.81 per cent).
As many as 2,482 stocks declined, while 845 advanced and 120 remained unchanged.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Hong Kong and Tokyo settled in the red, while Shanghai mustered gains.
Bourses in Europe were trading sharply lower in the afternoon session.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.29 per cent to USD 107.7 per barrel.
The rupee extended its losses and slumped 10 paise to close at a fresh lifetime low of 77.72 (provisional) against the US dollar.
Continuing their selling spree, foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth a net Rs 1,254.64 crore on Wednesday, as per stock exchange data.
