The Indian stock market witnessed a significant decline today, with both the Nifty 50 and the Sensex dropping over 1 per cent each. This downturn follows concerns sparked by the US inflation data for February, suggesting a potential delay in rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve beyond June.
Opening at 22,432.20, the Nifty 50 plummeted 1.9 per cent to reach an intraday low of 21,905.65 before closing at 21,997.70, marking a loss of 338 points or 1.51 per cent. Among the Nifty 50 constituents, 43 stocks ended in the red, with Power Grid, Coal India, and Adani Enterprises being the top losers.
Similarly, the Sensex opened at 73,993.40 and fell by 1.6 per cent to hit an intraday low of 72,515.71 before settling at 72,761.89, reflecting a loss of 906 points or 1.23 per cent. The midcap and smallcap indices also experienced substantial declines, with the BSE Midcap index dropping nearly 5 per cent and the BSE Smallcap index plunging over 5 per cent during intraday trading.
The market capitalization of BSE-listed firms decreased to approximately ₹372.1 lakh crore from nearly ₹385.6 lakh crore in the previous session, resulting in investors losing about ₹13.5 lakh crore in a single trading session. Additionally, over 250 stocks, including Hindustan Unilever, SBI Cards and Payment Services, Page Industries, UPL, and Zee Entertainment, hit their fresh 52-week lows.
Except for the Nifty FMCG index, which remained almost flat, all other sectoral indices closed with losses. Particularly, the Nifty Metal, Media, Realty, Oil & Gas, and PSU Bank indices suffered significant declines, while Nifty Bank closed 0.64 per cent lower and the Private Bank index declined by 0.70 per cent.
Experts attribute this widespread selloff in the domestic stock market to five major factors, suggesting a challenging day for investors and traders.
