New Delhi, 15 September (H.S.): Most stock markets across the world plunged today amid escalating tensions in West Asia following fresh attacks by Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia, a surge in crude oil prices, fears of rising inflation in several countries and the consequent possibility of higher interest rates, as well as a spike in global bond yields. The Indian stock market also came under severe pressure amid the global wave of panic. Heavy selling dragged the Sensex down by more than 1,442 points from its intra-day high, while the Nifty plunged as much as 474.25 points from its peak. The sharp market decline wiped out Rs 10.69 lakh crore from the wealth of stock market investors in a single session.

Trading began on a firm note today. Immediately after the opening, buying support pushed both the Sensex and Nifty higher. However, within a short while, selling pressure emerged in the domestic market amid global headwinds, sending both indices steadily lower. Buyers attempted to provide support to the market through bouts of buying during the session, but the selling pressure was so intense that none of their efforts could sustain the recovery. At the end of the day’s trading, the Sensex closed 1.04 per cent lower, while the Nifty ended the session with a decline of 1.19 per cent.

The BSE Sensex opened at 75,369.63, up 587.87 points, or 0.79 per cent. Immediately after the start of trading, buying support lifted the index by 654.68 points, or 0.88 per cent, to an intra-day high of 75,436.44. The market, however, soon came under selling pressure, causing the index to reverse its gains. Persistent selling dragged the Sensex into negative territory at around 10 a.m. after it surrendered all its early gains. Selling continued thereafter, further deepening the index’s losses.

Amid sustained selling, shortly before the close, the Sensex had plunged 1,442.41 points from its intra-day high to 73,994.03, down 787.73 points, or 1.05 per cent. After the full trading session, the Sensex closed at 74,003.82, registering a decline of 777.94 points, or 1.04 per cent.

Like the Sensex, the NSE Nifty also opened on a positive note, gaining 178.05 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 23,576.15. Buying support following the opening lifted the index by 194.75 points, or 0.83 per cent, to an intra-day high of 23,592.85. The rally, however, failed to sustain for long. Amid global pressure, selling emerged in the domestic equity market, weakening the Nifty’s trajectory as well.

Persistent selling pushed the index into negative territory within the first hour of trading. At this level, buyers once again attempted to step up purchases, but bearish pressure remained so strong that their efforts failed to revive the market, and selling pressure intensified further. After facing selling pressure throughout the day, the Nifty slipped 474.25 points from its intra-day high and closed at 23,118.60, down 279.50 points, or 1.19 per cent.

Despite negative sentiment dominating trading throughout the day, IT stocks continued to attract buying interest, enabling the Nifty IT index to close 2.19 per cent higher. Similarly, the BSE IT index gained 1.06 per cent. Apart from the IT sector, all other sectors succumbed to the pressure prevailing in global markets.

The realty sector was particularly badly hit, with the realty index falling more than 3 per cent under heavy selling pressure. Shares in the consumer durables, metal, media and PSU banking sectors also witnessed sustained selling. The BSE Metal index fell 2.12 per cent, while the Nifty Public Sector Enterprises index declined 2.29 per cent. The BSE Consumer Durables index also closed 2.65 per cent lower.

In addition, the automobile, infrastructure, oil and gas, pharmaceutical, capital goods and FMCG indices also ended in the red. The broader market likewise witnessed persistent selling, with the Nifty Midcap index declining 2.12 per cent. The Smallcap index ended the session 2.43 per cent lower.

The sharp decline in the stock market reduced the wealth of investors by more than Rs 10.5 lakh crore. The market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE fell to Rs 472.41 lakh crore (provisional) after today’s trading, compared with Rs 483.10 lakh crore at the close of the previous trading session on Friday. Thus, investors suffered a loss of approximately Rs 10.69 lakh crore during today’s session.

A total of 4,684 stocks were actively traded on the BSE during the day. Of these, 1,190 stocks closed with gains, while 3,292 declined and 202 remained unchanged. On the NSE, 3,281 stocks witnessed active trading, of which 577 closed in the green and 2,704 ended in the red. Among the 30 Sensex constituents, seven stocks closed higher and 23 declined. Of the 50 Nifty constituents, 10 ended with gains, while 40 closed lower.

Following the day’s buying and selling activity, HCL Technologies gained 3.95 per cent, Infosys 3.79 per cent, TCS 2.28 per cent, Tech Mahindra 2.26 per cent and Wipro 1.55 per cent, making them the top five gainers among the market’s major stocks.

On the other hand, Bharat Electronics declined 5.30 per cent, Shriram Finance 4.74 per cent, Adani Enterprises 4.29 per cent, InterGlobe Aviation 3.96 per cent and Grasim Industries 3.38 per cent, making them the top five losers of the day.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar