Sharp Plunge: Sensex Dips 800 Points, Nifty Falls Below 19k, Investors Shed INR 3.5 Lakh Crore in 15 Minutes

Sensex & Nifty in free fall, Indian markets in red: Benchmark equity indices continued their downward trend for the sixth consecutive session on Thursday, mirroring the global market sentiment impacted by concerns over US Treasury yields and the ongoing Middle East conflict. The stock markets were also hit by the underwhelming earnings report from Tech Mahindra and the IT sector’s overall performance.

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The BSE Sensex witnessed a decline of 800 points, falling below the 63,300 mark. At around 11:12 a.m., the Nifty50 was trading at 18,866., down 255 points. The market capitalisation of all listed companies on BSE also took a hit, dropping by Rs 3.58 lakh crore to Rs 305.64 lakh crore, according to an ET report.

Several stocks on the Sensex saw a decline, including Tech Mahindra and M&M, which fell around 2.3% each. Tata Motors, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, and Tata Steel also opened lower. However, Axis Bank, HCL Tech, and IndusInd Bank witnessed a positive opening.

Jubilant FoodWorks shares experienced a decrease of over 5% after the company reported a 39.5% year-on-year drop in its standalone profit for the September quarter. Sonata Software, on the other hand, saw its shares rise over 4% following a 10% year-on-year increase in net profit for the second quarter that ended on September 30, 2023.

Market experts have expressed their concerns about the current situation. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, highlighted the risks posed by the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and the impact it could have on global growth. He also noted that the persistently high US bond yields are a major challenge for the market, with foreign portfolio investors likely to adopt a sell mode.

Ameya Ranadive, Research Analyst at Choice Broking has cautioned that while a minor upside rebound is possible, breaching the 19,000 mark could lead to further downturns in the near future.

US stocks experienced a decline, with Alphabet shares disappointing investors with their earnings report and US Treasury yields rising, resulting in concerns about higher interest rates. The negative sentiment extended to the broader Asian markets as well. China’s blue-chip index opened 0.51% lower, while Japan’s Nikkei declined by over 2%.

In terms of investor activity, foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 4,237 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 3,569 crore.