Dalal Street investors become poorer by ₹4.86 lakh cr as markets tumble

New Delhi, A sharp plunge in the stock market made investors poorer by Rs 4.86 lakh crore on Tuesday, on a day when the BSE benchmark Sensex tanked over 700 points. The Sensex tumbled 736.37 points or 1.01 per cent to finish at 72,012.05. During the day, the benchmark fell by 815.07 points or 1.12 per cent to 71,933.35.

Amid weak leads from equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms fell by Rs 4,86,777.98 crore to Rs 3,73,92,545.45 crore.

Following the BoJ's (Bank of Japan) decision to hike interest rates for the first time in 17 years, the Asian peers' mood turned sour, which pulled the Indian markets to continue its recent pessimism, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"The correction in the domestic market has also been triggered by concerns over premium valuations and the delay of rate cuts by the US Fed due to hotter-than-expected inflation, which is evident from the upward trend in the dollar index. Investors are exercising caution as they await the upcoming US Fed meeting, seeking indications on the potential timing of a reversal in the rate cycle," he added.

From the Sensex basket, Tata Consultancy Services fell by 4.03 per cent as its promoter Tata Sons sold around 2.3 crore shares, or 0.65 per cent of equity stake, in the IT services major through block deals.

IndusInd Bank, Wipro, Nestle, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Power Grid, ITC, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors and UltraTech Cement were the other major laggards.

Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Titan and Bharti Airtel were the gainers from the 30-share BSE Sensex pack.

"Pessimism in the markets continued on the back of broad-based selling, as investors worried over expensive valuations in mid and smallcap stocks... Investors preferred to exit long positions ahead of the US FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting, which will put the spotlight back on the interest rate scenario going ahead," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge declined 1.36 per cent and the smallcap index fell by 1.04 per cent.

"Investors remained on edge as key central banks globally are scheduled for a meeting. We expect the market to remain in consolidation mode as cautiousness persists with the commencement of the US Fed meeting today," Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.

All indices ended lower. IT index dived 2.66 per cent, teck fell by 2.36 per cent, telecommunication (1.74 per cent), services (1.60 per cent) and utilities (1.57 per cent).

A total of 2,583 stocks declined while 1,234 advanced and 111 remained unchanged on the BSE. Also, 364 stocks hit their lower circuit limit, while 235 firms reached their upper circuit level.