New Delhi, 28 September (H.S.): The domestic stock market suffered a major setback on Monday, with surging crude oil prices in international markets, renewed tensions following the failure of peace talks between the United States and Iran in West Asia, and continued selling by foreign institutional investors combining to make it a “Black Monday” for Indian equities. The Sensex plunged as much as 1,179 points during the session, while the Nifty declined by as much as 378 points. The Sensex fell below the 73,000-point mark, while the Nifty slipped below 23,000 and even breached the 22,800 level. The intense selling pressure reduced the market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE by more than Rs 8.75 lakh crore.

The market opened on a weak note, and broad-based selling emerged soon after the opening bell, pushing both the Sensex and Nifty lower. Although buyers attempted to build some momentum during the second half of the session, their efforts failed to withstand the heavy selling pressure. At the close of trading, the Sensex was down 1.52 per cent, while the Nifty ended 1.56 per cent lower.

The BSE Sensex opened at 73,734.83, declining 160.91 points, or 0.22 per cent, from its previous close. Selling intensified shortly after the market opened, weakening the index further. Continuous selling pushed the Sensex down 1,179.51 points, or 1.60 per cent, to an intraday low of 72,716.23 shortly before 3 p.m. A modest recovery in the final half-hour of trading helped the index recover slightly from its low. It eventually closed at 72,771.72, down 1,124.02 points, or 1.52 per cent.

The NSE Nifty also opened lower, slipping 75.60 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 23,064.90. Buying support immediately after the opening helped the index recover by around 15 points from its opening level, taking it to 23,080.25. However, heavy selling soon returned to the market. The sustained selling pressure pushed the index down 378.30 points, or 1.63 per cent, to an intraday low of 22,762.20 around 3 p.m. Buying towards the end of the session amid intraday settlement activity helped the Nifty recover by around 18 points from its low. It finally closed at 22,780.25, down 360.25 points, or 1.56 per cent.

PSU bank stocks remained under persistent selling pressure throughout the session. As a result, the Nifty Bank index closed 1.99 per cent lower. The Capital Goods index declined 2 per cent, while the Public Sector Enterprises index fell 1.91 per cent. The Oil & Gas index declined 1.77 per cent, the Metal index 1.65 per cent, the Automobile index 1.64 per cent and the FMCG index 1.53 per cent. Consumer Durables, Healthcare, Realty and Energy stocks also remained under sustained selling pressure.

The broader market was similarly weak, with continued selling dragging the Nifty Midcap index down 1.63 per cent. The Smallcap index also ended the session 1.85 per cent lower.

The sharp decline in the stock market wiped out more than Rs 8.75 lakh crore from investors’ wealth. The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies fell to Rs 474.48 lakh crore (provisional) at the end of Monday’s trading, compared with Rs 483.25 lakh crore at the close of trading on Friday, the final trading session of the previous week. The decline translates into a loss of approximately Rs 8.77 lakh crore for investors in a single trading session.

A total of 4,717 stocks were actively traded on the BSE during the day. Of these, 1,359 stocks closed higher, while 3,106 declined and 252 remained unchanged. On the NSE, 3,276 stocks witnessed active trading, with 694 closing in positive territory and 2,582 ending lower. Among the 30 Sensex constituents, only one stock closed with gains, while 29 declined. Similarly, only two of the 50 Nifty constituents ended in the green, whereas 48 closed in the red.

Among the major stocks, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories gained 1.67 per cent and Infosys advanced 0.30 per cent, making them the only prominent stocks to finish higher. On the other hand, TMPV declined 3 per cent, Adani Enterprises fell 2.93 per cent, Jio Financial Services dropped 2.86 per cent, Larsen & Toubro declined 2.83 per cent and Adani Ports fell 2.48 per cent, placing them among the day’s top five losers.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar