Investors get poorer by ₹18.43 lakh crore in 5 days as markets crash amid weak global sentiment

The continuous outflow of foreign funds and weak global trends led to a market crash this week, making equity investors poorer by ₹18.43 lakh crore. The BSE benchmark Sensex plunged by 4,091 points, or 4.98% during the last five trading days. The market cap of BSE-listed companies dropped to ₹4,40,99,217.32 crore, erasing ₹18,43,121.27 crore.

The 30-share BSE slumped 1,343.46 points, or 1.69% to 77,874.59 during the intraday session on Friday, December 20, before settling at 78,041.59, down 1.49% from the previous close..

"Nervousness continued to grip investors and stocks across-the-board went into a tailspin as the dollar's continuing strength against the rupee has been prompting foreign investors to flee local equities and take shelter in safe-haven dollar assets," PTI quoted Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd as saying.

Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, State Bank of India, Tata Consultancy Services, Larsen & Toubro, UltraTech Cement and Reliance Industries were among the biggest losers from the 30 blue-chip Sensex pack. Nestle and Titan were among the few gainers.

"Disappointment regarding the slower-than-anticipated rate cuts by the US Fed has adversely affected global market sentiment. This bearish outlook is particularly impacting the domestic market, which is already contending with high valuations & low earnings growth. The sell-off has been widespread, with significant declines in mid and small-cap stocks, where valuations premiumisation is at a historical peak," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, told PTI.

• Realty: -4.07%
• Power: -3.55%
• Capital Goods: -3.02%
• Industrials: -2.67%
• BSE-focused IT: -2.61%
• IT: -2.51%
• Consumer Discretionary: -2.32%
• Services: -2.29%

Nearly 2,950 stocks declined with 1,045 climbing and 90 remaining unchanged on the BSE. The BSE midcap gauge tanked 2.43% and smallcap index dropped 2.11%. Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled lower in the Asian markets, and the European equity markets were trading with a downward trend. Wall Street ended on a mixed note on Thursday, December 19. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹4,224.92 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.