On Monday, the BSE Sensex experienced a significant drop, plunging as much as 962 points or 1.17% to 80,726.06 during intraday trading. The NSE Nifty50 also fell sharply by 244 points or 0.97%, reaching 24,770 levels. Despite opening in the green, both indices quickly erased their gains and slipped deep into negative territory.
By the end of the trading session, the BSE Sensex had settled 638 points or 0.78% lower, closing at 81,050. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty50 finished the day 218 points or 0.87% down, closing at 24,795.
Reasons for the Market Drop:
- Global Geopolitical Tensions: One of the primary reasons for the market’s decline was the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, which has raised concerns about the stability of the region. This geopolitical uncertainty has made investors nervous and caused a flight from riskier assets like equities.
- Foreign Investor Selling: There has been heavy selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), who are increasingly shifting their focus to cheaper markets like China and Hong Kong. This has led to continued outflows from the Indian market, further weakening domestic indices.
Key Contributors to the Decline:
Index heavyweights like HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, NTPC, Axis Bank, and Larsen & Toubro were the major contributors to Sensex’s fall. Among them, NTPC saw the sharpest drop, plunging by up to 4%. Adani Ports was the biggest loser, also down 4% intraday.
Sectoral Performance:
Most sectors were trading in the red, with Nifty IT being the only sector to show some resilience, gaining 0.47% intraday. On the other hand, Nifty Metal slipped by 2.44%, following Nifty Media, which fell over 3%.
Metal stocks were particularly hard hit, with companies like National Aluminium, APL Apollo Tubes, Hindalco, NMDC, Adani Enterprises, Hindustan Zinc, Hindustan Copper, SAIL, and Welspun Corp witnessing declines in the range of 3-6% intraday.
In summary, a combination of global geopolitical tensions and heavy selling by foreign investors contributed to the sharp decline in both Sensex and Nifty today, with most sectors ending the day in negative territory.