October 5, 2024

Stock Market Turmoil: Sensex Drops by 730 Points, Nifty Crashes to 17,388

Stock Market Turmoil: Sensex Drops by 730 Points, Nifty Crashes to 17,388

On Friday, the benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty started off on a weak note, with heavy selling in financials, IT and capital goods stocks. Both the indices fell more than 1 per cent in the opening trade, owing to weak global trends. The Sensex plunged 730.17 points or 1.22 per cent to 59,076.11, with 25 of its constituents trading in the red. The Nifty of the National Stock Exchange tanked 201.05 points or 1.14 per cent to 17,388.55, as 45 of its shares traded in the red.

Analysts attributed the heavy selling to weak Asian markets and overnight losses in the US market, especially in financials, banking, IT and capital goods shares. The sell-off in the US markets was triggered by a crash of 60 per cent in SVB Financials – a bank that mainly funds startups. This impacted sentiments, and banking stocks took a beating on concerns that rising interest rates might trigger loan repayment defaults.

The market indices in Asia also declined following losses in US shares. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped by 2.45 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi by 1.21 per cent, Shanghai by 1.15 per cent, and Japan’s Nikkei by 1.36 per cent.

In India, HDFC fell the most by 2.53 per cent among Sensex shares. IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, L&T, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Infosys, TCS, and Ultratech Cement were among the major losers. However, Tata Motors bucked the trend, gaining 0.75 per cent, while Bharti Airtel and Maruti also advanced.

In the US, the S&P 500 tumbled 1.8 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.7 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite fell 2.1 per cent as investors remain anxious about the prospect of more aggressive action by the Federal Reserve to fight inflation with higher interest rates.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) emerged as net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they sold shares worth Rs 561.78 crore, according to exchange data.

At the end of the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 541.81 points or 0.90 per cent lower at 59,806.28, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 164.80 points or 0.93 per cent to 17,589.60.