Monday Mayhem! Rs 9.15 lakh cr investor wealth wiped off as Sensex plunges 1,546 pts

NEW DELHI: On a manic Monday, equity investors were left looking for relief as the market crash extended to the fifth straight session amid increasing geopolitical tensions and rising inflation.

All sectors were deep in the red. The advance-decline ratio was in favour of losers. Tech stocks were especially beaten down during the session, taking cues from heavy sell-off in the US tech stocks.

The 30-share pack Sensex crashed 1,545.67 points or 2.62 per cent to close at 57,491.51. The index has fallen about 3,820 points in the last five sessions. Its broader peer NSE Nifty fell 468.05 points or 2.66 per cent to 17,149.10.

Investors were left poorer by Rs 9.15 lakh crore as the total market cap of BSE-listed firms, which reflects investor wealth, slipped to Rs 260.49 lakh crore. Investors have lost Rs 19.33 lakh crore in the market fall since Tuesday last week.

“While a further 500 points downside cannot be ruled out in the Nifty, on the brighter side, the stock market is much lighter and healthier, heading into the Union Budget, after the high in mid-October 2021,” said Amar Ambani, Head – Institutional Equities, YES Securities. “Corporate earnings have been positive so far and Omicron didn’t disrupt the economy materially. The structural story remains intact and I am confident that the Nifty will achieve a higher high in 2022, than what we saw in 2021.”

Market at a glance:

• New age stocks bleed; Zomato, Nykaa sink up to 20 per cent
• India VIX, a barometer of volatility, spikes 21 per cent to 23-level
• Cipla gains 3 per cent ahead of its Q3 earnings scheduled tomorrow
• Voda Idea tumbles 8 per cent after analysts show concerns
• Sharda Cropchem ends 15 per cent higher as co changes dividend record date

Among the bluechip names, Cipla was the top gainer, rising 2.86 per cent. ONGC was another gainer of the day.

JSW Steel was the top loser in the Nifty pack for another day, falling 6.92 per cent. Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, Grasim Industries and Hindalco Industries were other stocks that ended in the red.

Broader market indices ended lower, and underperformed their headline peers. Nifty Smallcap fell 4.78 per cent and Nifty Midcap slipped 3.86 per cent. Nifty 500, the broadest index on NSE, ended down 3.09 per cent.


JK Lakshmi Cement, CSB Bank, Aarti drugs and Avanti Feeds were top gainers from mid and smallcap indices, climbing in the range of 0-1 per cent.

Astral Pipes, Hindustan Copper, Godrej Properties, Intellect Design, Alok Industries and Sunteck Realty were major losers from broader market space, falling in the range of 8-10 per cent.

All sectoral indices on NSE ended in the red. Nifty Realty index fell the most at 5.90 per cent, followed by Nifty metal that fell 5.23 per cent. Nifty Auto, Nifty FMCG and Nifty IT indices were other major losers.

Market breadth was in favour of losers as 3,071 stocks ended in the green, while 512 names settled with cuts. As many as 252 securities hit 52-week highs, mostly from the smallcap space. Meanwhile, 68 names hit 52-week lows, mostly from the microcap space. About 920 stocks hit upper circuit limits and 260 lower circuit limits.

European markets were trading lower. London-based FTSE dipped 1.08 per cent while Paris and Frankfurt fell 1.66 per cent and 1.69 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan, Taiwan and China rose while the rest of the markets ended in the red.