Sensex crashes over 900 points: What's behind today's decline?
What's the story
Indian stock markets witnessed another crash today, with the Sensex and Nifty indices plummeting sharply. The Sensex fell by over 930 points to 75,097 while the Nifty slipped to 23,315, down by over 320 points. The sharp sell-off has erased nearly ₹3.31 lakh crore from the total market capitalization of all companies listed on BSE, bringing it down to ₹437 lakh crore.
Market influences
Top losers and gainers on Sensex
The ongoing war between Iran and Israel-US, among other key factors, has weighed heavily on the Indian stock markets. Major companies such as L&T, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, IndiGo, HDFC Bank and Tech Mahindra were among the top losers on Sensex with losses of 2-3%. However, a few companies like Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL), Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and ITC managed to stay afloat amid this market turmoil.
International impact
Global markets reflect similar downturn
The global markets also reflected this downturn, with Japan's Nikkei 225 and South Korea's Kospi falling over 1% each. HongKong's Hang Seng and China's Shanghai Composite were down by 0.55% and 0.25%, respectively. Wall Street and European markets opened the previous session with deep cuts, S&P 500 declined over 1.5%, while Nasdaq tumbled by nearly 1.8%.
Currency crisis
Indian rupee nears all-time low
The Indian rupee is nearing its all-time low, falling by nine paise to 92.34 against the US dollar in early trade. The currency has been on a downward spiral lately, hitting an all-time low of 92.3575 against the US dollar yesterday before recovering some losses. Oil movements remain a key driver for the rupee, which tends to widen India's import bill and weigh on the currency.
Investment trends
Foreign investors continue to sell Indian equities
Foreign investors have been net sellers of Indian equities for the 10th consecutive session, selling shares worth nearly ₹7,050 crore. FIIs have sold Indian equities worth around ₹57,169 crore over these 10 sessions till Thursday. This persistent selling by foreign investors has dampened investor sentiment in the market.