SENSEX tumbles over 1,000 points, NIFTY trades below 25,000 for first time in over three months; here is why

The SENSEX dropped as much as 1,056 points, while the NIFTY50 index slipped below its important psychological level of 25,000 to hit an intraday low of 24,920.

As of 10:59 am, the SENSEX was down 839 points at 81,341, and the NIFTY50 index traded 248 points lower at 24,983.

Asian markets were trading on a mixed note amid a steep fall in US markets overnight after US President Donald Trump threatened fresh tariffs on countries resisting the transfer of Greenland to the United States.

Japan's Nikkei fell 0.53%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index declined 0.46%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.01%, while China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.43%.

Overnight, stocks slumped on Wall Street on Tuesday after President Donald Trump threatened to hit eight European countries with new tariffs as tensions escalate over his attempts to assert American control over Greenland.

Dow Jones falling 1.76%, the S&P 500 index dropped 2.06%, and the Nasdaq declined 2.39%.

Back home, selling pressure was visible across sectors as all the major sectoral gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading lower, led by the NIFTY Consumer Durables index's 2.4% fall. NIFTY Bank, Financial Services, Auto, IT, PSU Bank, Private Bank, and Realty indices also fell between 1%-1.5%.

Mid- and small-cap shares were facing intense selling pressure as the NIFTY Midcap 100 index dropped 2%, the NIFTY Smallcap 100 index fell 1.72%, the NIFTY 500 index slipped 1.3%, and the NIFTY SELECT Midcap index dropped 2.06%.

Among the individual shares, Credit Access Grameen surged as much as 9.5% to hit an intraday high of ₹1,359 after it reported a net profit of ₹252 crore in the third quarter of the current financial year compared with a loss of ₹99 crore in the same period last year.

Shoppers Stop shares dropped as much as 11.75% to hit an intraday low of ₹321.45 after its net profit declined 74% to ₹13 crore in the December quarter compared with 49 crore in the year-ago period.

Bharat Electronics was the top loser in the NIFTY50 index; the stock fell 1.6% to ₹403. ICICI Bank, Trent, Apollo Hospitals, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Larsen & Toubro, Eicher Motors, and Tata Consultancy Services also declined between 0.41%-1.5%.

On the other hand, Eternal, Hindalco, JSW Steel, InterGlobe Aviation, SBI Life and HDFC Life were top gainers in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth was negative as 2,004 shares were declining while 1,323 were advancing on the BSE.