-Investors Lose ₹3.75 Lakh Crore as Market Sell-Off Intensifies

New Delhi, June 1 (H.S.): The domestic stock market witnessed a sharp decline once again on Monday amid reports of renewed tensions between the United States and Iran, rising crude oil prices, heavy selling pressure, and a significant downturn in the FMCG sector. Trading had begun on a strong note, with both the Sensex and Nifty extending gains after the opening bell due to sustained buying interest. However, selling pressure soon emerged, dragging both benchmark indices lower throughout the session.

The sell-off was so intense that the BSE Sensex plunged nearly 1,165 points from its intraday high, while the Nifty dropped more than 375 points from its peak level. At the close of trading, the Sensex ended down 0.68 percent and the Nifty settled 0.70 percent lower.

During the trading session, stocks from the Information Technology (IT), Media, and Metal sectors continued to attract buying interest. Supported by strong demand, the Nifty IT Index closed 2.66 percent higher, while the BSE Tech Index ended the session with gains of 1.34 percent.

On the other hand, Automobile, Power, and FMCG stocks remained under sustained selling pressure throughout the day. Banking, Consumer Durables, Capital Goods, Healthcare, Public Sector Enterprises, and Oil & Gas indices also closed in negative territory.

The broader market also witnessed persistent selling, resulting in the Nifty Midcap Index closing 1.45 percent lower. Similarly, the Smallcap Index ended the day down 0.88 percent.

The market downturn led to a substantial erosion of investor wealth, with approximately ₹3.75 lakh crore wiped out in a single trading session. The market capitalization of companies listed on the BSE declined to ₹460.72 lakh crore (provisional) by the close of trade, compared to ₹464.47 lakh crore on Friday, the last trading day of the previous week. As a result, investors suffered losses amounting to nearly ₹3.75 lakh crore.

A total of 4,549 stocks were actively traded on the BSE during the day. Of these, 1,589 stocks closed higher, 2,761 declined, while 199 remained unchanged. On the NSE, 3,015 stocks witnessed active trading, with 924 ending in positive territory and 2,091 closing lower.

Among the 30 constituent stocks of the Sensex, six ended with gains while 24 closed in the red. Similarly, among the 50 Nifty stocks, 10 advanced and 40 declined.

The BSE Sensex opened 427.28 points higher at 75,203.02. Supported by early buying, the index surged 592.19 points to touch an intraday high of 75,367.93. However, selling pressure soon emerged, reversing the gains and pushing the benchmark steadily lower.

Although buyers attempted to provide support intermittently, the selling pressure remained dominant. Shortly before the close, the Sensex had plunged 1,164.25 points from its intraday peak and slipped to 74,203.68, down 572.06 points from Friday's close. Eventually, it settled at 74,267.34, registering a loss of 508.40 points.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty opened 106.75 points higher at 23,654.50 and quickly climbed 185.95 points to an intraday high of 23,733.70. Thereafter, profit-booking emerged, causing the index to reverse course.

As selling intensified, the Nifty fell 375.75 points from its intraday high and touched 23,357.95 shortly before the close, down 189.80 points on the day. A minor recovery driven by intraday settlement-related buying helped the index recover nearly 25 points from its lowest level, and it finally closed at 23,382.60, down 165.15 points.

Among the market's heavyweight stocks, Tech Mahindra gained 4.01 percent, Infosys rose 3.58 percent, Coal India advanced 3.21 percent, TCS climbed 1.70 percent, and JSW Steel added 1.67 percent, making them the day's top five gainers.

On the losing side, Hindustan Unilever declined 3.21 percent, Tata Consumer Products fell 2.98 percent, Shriram Finance dropped 2.97 percent, Max Healthcare slipped 2.76 percent, and ITC lost 2.53 percent, emerging as the top five losers of the trading session.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar