Sensex plunges 1,769 points, Nifty closes 2.12% down on geopolitical

How much have Sensex and Nifty fallen?

The 30-share Sensex plunged 1769.19 points, or 2.1 per cent, to end at 82,497.1. The index had fallen by 1,832.27 points to 82,434.02 during the intraday trades.

The broader Nifty slid 546.8 points, or 2.12 per cent, to finish at 25,250.1. The 50-share index fell 567 points to an intraday low of 25,230.30.

Of the 30 BSE Sensex companies, 29 ended in red. Out of the 50 Nifty firms, 48 closed in red.

What led to a crash in the stock market?

The fall in the domestic market was a combination of global and domestic factors.

“On the global front, geopolitical tensions between Israel and Iran had a major role to play. This also led to a rise in crude oil prices which added pressure on India. The other factor is the surprise up move in other emerging markets like China. This along with the recent announcement to curb speculation in the derivatives market led to market volatility,” said A Balasubramanian, Managing Director & CEO, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Ltd.

The Middle East situation is delicately poised and needs to be monitored closely as it would impact crude prices and also shipping routes vital to global supply chains, IFA Global said in a note.

The markets regulator SEBI on Tuesday announced six measures in the equity derivatives, also known as equity F&O, including raising the entry barrier by increasing the contract size and upfront collection of options premium, among others to check speculative trading, protect the interest of retail investors and to bring in market stability.

“New SEBI regulations for the F&O segment have raised concerns about reduced trading volumes in the broader market,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

According to Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, the carnage on Dalal Street was on concerns of foreign funds pulling out funds from emerging markets including India and steadily increasing exposure to Chinese markets.

On Tuesday, foreign portfolio investors sold Rs 5,579.35 crore of domestic shares on a net basis.

Which stocks were hit massively?

Major stock market indices plunged on Thursday. BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices lost over 1,000 points. Nifty bank closed 2.04 per cent down and Nifty IT dropped 1.58 per cent.

Among the NSE companies, the firms that lost the most included BPCL (5 per cent), Shriram Finance (4.42 per cent), Larsen & Toubro (4.05 per cent), Axis Bank (3.97 per cent) and Reliance Industries (3.95 per cent).