New Delhi, 01 October (H.S.): The domestic stock market, like most other global equity markets, came under heavy pressure on Thursday amid concerns over inflation, fears of higher interest rates and a sharp rise in bond yields. The Sensex plunged as much as 1,280 points during the intra-day session, while the Nifty also declined by as much as 403 points. The sharp market decline wiped out Rs 6.09 lakh crore from investors' wealth in a single trading session.

The stock market witnessed intense volatility throughout the day. Trading began on a weak note, but buying emerged soon after the opening, helping both the Sensex and Nifty recover some of their initial losses. However, selling pressure resurfaced shortly after 10 a.m., sending both benchmark indices lower. The decline continued until around 2 p.m. Thereafter, renewed buying helped the Sensex and Nifty recover a substantial portion of their losses. At the close of trading, the Sensex was down 0.79 per cent, while the Nifty declined 0.88 per cent.

The BSE Sensex opened at 72,192.89, down 287.40 points, or 0.40 per cent, from its previous close. Shortly after the start of trading, buying activity picked up, leading to an improvement in the index. Supported by sustained buying, the Sensex recovered 380.01 points from its opening level and moved to 72,572.90, representing a gain of 92.61 points, or 0.13 per cent, shortly after 10 a.m.

Thereafter, selling pressure intensified in the market. Around noon, bears mounted broad-based pressure, causing the index to plunge 1,280.02 points from its intra-day high over the next two hours. The Sensex eventually touched an intra-day low of 71,292.88, representing a decline of 1,187.41 points, or 1.64 per cent. Subsequently, renewed buying emerged, triggering a recovery in the index. Supported by this buying, the Sensex recovered 616.82 points from its day's low and finally closed at 71,909.70, down 570.59 points, or 0.79 per cent.

Like the Sensex, the NSE Nifty also opened lower, declining 76.75 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 22,543.70. Buying emerged soon after the market opened, leading to a gradual recovery in the index. Supported by continued buying, the Nifty recovered 66.90 points from its opening level and reached 22,610.60 around 10 a.m. Thereafter, broad-based selling set in, pushing the index lower.

Amid sustained selling pressure, the Nifty fell 403.15 points, or 1.78 per cent, to 22,217.30 by around 2 p.m. Thereafter, renewed buying helped the index recover. After a full day of trading, the Nifty recovered 204.65 points from its day's low and closed at 22,421.95, down 198.50 points, or 0.88 per cent.

During Thursday's trading session, shares of automobile, metal and public sector enterprise companies remained under sustained selling pressure.

Due to the selling pressure, the Nifty Auto Index fell 3.46 per cent. Similarly, the BSE Metal Index declined 2.18 per cent, while the Nifty Public Sector Enterprise Index ended the session 1.62 per cent lower. Banking, consumer durables, FMCG, healthcare and oil and gas indices also closed in the red.

In contrast, IT stocks attracted sustained buying throughout the session, helping the Nifty IT Index surge 2.17 per cent. Likewise, the BSE Tech Index gained 1.06 per cent. The Capital Goods and Telecom indices also managed to close higher.

The broader market, however, remained under selling pressure. The Nifty Midcap Index declined 1.01 per cent, while the Smallcap Index ended 0.97 per cent lower.

The market weakness resulted in a decline of more than Rs 6 lakh crore in investors' wealth. The market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE fell to Rs 467.01 lakh crore (provisional) at the end of Thursday's trading session, compared with Rs 473.10 lakh crore at the end of the previous trading session on Wednesday. Consequently, investors suffered a loss of approximately Rs 6.09 lakh crore during the day's trading.

A total of 4,652 stocks were actively traded on the BSE during the session. Of these, 1,367 stocks closed higher, while 3,056 declined and 229 remained unchanged. On the NSE, 3,285 stocks were actively traded, of which 729 ended in positive territory and 2,556 closed lower.

Among the 30 constituents of the Sensex, six stocks closed with gains, while 24 declined. Of the 50 Nifty constituents, 13 ended higher and 37 closed in the red.

Among the major stocks, Infosys gained 4.11 per cent, HDFC Life Insurance rose 2.49 per cent, HDFC Bank advanced 1.76 per cent, SBI Life Insurance gained 1.49 per cent and Max Healthcare rose 1.20 per cent, making them the top five gainers of the session.

On the other hand, Bajaj Auto declined 7.62 per cent, Maruti Suzuki fell 4.86 per cent, Shriram Finance dropped 3.84 per cent, Tata Steel declined 3.42 per cent and Grasim Industries fell 3.26 per cent, placing them among the top five losers of the day.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar