Sensex crashes over 1,150 points: What's behind today's fall?
What's the story
India's equity benchmarks witnessed a sharp decline on Wednesday, with the BSE Sensex crashing over 1,150 points and the Nifty 50 index plummeting by more than 300 points in intraday trade. The fall was mainly due to concerns over US-Iran negotiations and a fresh spike in crude oil prices. Foreign fund outflows also contributed to the downward trend.
Market impact
IT stocks witness heavy selling pressure
The Indian rupee also fell to a one-week low amid the market turmoil. Information Technology (IT) stocks witnessed heavy selling pressure as investors booked profits after their recent rally. Nifty IT was down by 6%. The Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices also followed the trend, falling by 1.55% and 1.45%. At around 12:30pm, Sensex was down by 976.19 points or 1.31% at 73,673.65 while Nifty 50 was trading lower by 275.75 points or 1.17% at 23,207.8.
Market analysis
Midcap stocks that gained and lost
The market breadth remained weak with 811 stocks advancing against 2,323 declining and 106 remaining unchanged out of the 3,240 stocks traded on NSE. Around 70 stocks hit their 52-week highs while 51 slipped to their respective lows. Investor focus has now shifted to Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy decision due on Friday after its three-day policy meeting began today.