A global market sell-off, triggered by weak employment data in US and fears of large speculative losses in the forex market due to a strengthening Japanese yen, also swept Dalal Street, sending investors into a panic-selling mode on Monday and pulling down the sensex by 2,223 points, or 2.7%, to78,759 points. On NSE, the Nifty lost 662 points to close at 24,056 points.
The day’s losses in sensex and Nifty were the second biggest single-day losses in these indices this year. Geopolitical tensions in West Asia, after a top US official predicted Iran could attack Israel soon, also unnerved global investors, market players said.
The day’s sell-off in the Indian market, which was led by foreign funds with a £1 billion plus net outflow, left investors poorer by £150 bn with BSE’s market capitalisation now at £4,547 bn. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors were net buyers at £915.6 mn, but still could not cushion the sell-off.
Gold and crude were trading 1% lower in early trades in New York, while bitcoin slumped over 8% to a multi-month low.
The day’s session in India was greatly impacted by selloff in Japan and South Korea, and in Taiwan. While Nikkei in Japan plunged over 12%, Korea and Taiwan each were down 9%.
Following its global peers, the Indian market opened gap down and corrected sharply during the day, said Siddhartha Khemka, head (retail research), Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Post mid-session, “European stocks fell, extending last week’s decline amid a deepening global rout in equities and a rotation away from the technology shares that have powered this year’s rally,” said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research, HDFC Securities.
Gujarat companies lose £8.3 bn
Leading companies in Gujarat experienced corrections of up to 6%, with an estimated market cap loss exceeding £8.3 bn in a single day. Companies like Adani Green Energy Ltd, Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd, Adani Total Gas Ltd, Adani Power and Torrent Power Ltd saw stock prices decline by over 5%. Senior research analyst Hitesh Somani said, “Most companies fell over 3%, and five leading companies declined by more than 5% on Monday.
