Equity investors lose ₹7.15 lakh crore in morning trade as markets decline

Investors' wealth eroded by a whopping ₹7.15 lakh crore during the morning trade on Friday as equity markets tumbled, driven by sharp fall in IndusInd Bank shares and unabated foreign fund outflows.

The BSE Sensex tanked 708.69 points to 79,356.47 and the NSE Nifty plunged 286.35 points to 24,113.05.

Tracking the weak trend in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms tumbled ₹7,15,739.19 crore to ₹4,36,63,565.73 crore ($5.19 trillion) during the morning trade.

From the 30 Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank plunged over 19% after the firm reported a 40% decline in September quarter net profit at ₹1,331 crore, pulled down majorly by concerns about asset quality.

Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC, Larsen & Toubro, Adani Ports, Titan, Tata Steel and JSW Steel were also among the laggards.

Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, Nestle and Hindustan Unilever were the other big gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹5,062.45 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought ₹3,620.47 crore shares.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong traded higher while Tokyo quoted lower.

The US markets ended mostly higher on Thursday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.31% to $74.61 a barrel.

In an uninspiring trade, the BSE benchmark dipped 16.82 points or 0.02% to settle at 80,065.16 on Thursday. The Nifty skidded 36.10 points or 0.15% to 24,399.40 in a volatile trade.