New Delhi, 19 March (H.S.): Domestic bourses opened to a maelstrom of selling pressure on Thursday, with Sensex and Nifty benchmarks cratering over 2% apiece by 10 a.m., vaporizing nearly ₹7 lakh crore in market capitalization within minutes of the session's commencement.
The carnage ensued despite fleeting buyer support post-open, which briefly arrested declines—Sensex clawing back ~600 points to 75,354 before succumbing anew, settling at 74,889 (down 1,814 points or 2.37%), while Nifty languished at 23,237 (down 540 points or 2.27%)—as Brent crude rocketed to $112.83/barrel and WTI to $100.02 amid West Asia's escalating energy-targeted strife.
BSE-listed firms' valuation nosedived accordingly, ensnaring investors in an abrupt fiscal debacle; only ONGC (+0.06%) and Coal India (+0.01%) eked out gains among blue-chips, while HDFC Bank, L&T, Shriram Finance, HCL Tech, and Bajaj Finance bled 3-5%. Sensex's 30 components unanimously reddened; Nifty's 50 saw just two greens amid 2,305 decliners versus 400 advancers across 2,705 actives.
Prior session's buoyancy—Sensex +0.83% to 76,704, Nifty +0.83% to 23,778—evaporated under global contagion, mirroring Asia's near-universal rout and underscoring crude's pernicious grip on sentiment.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
