Sensex crashes 1,352 points on rising crude oil prices; investors wipe out Rs 8 lakh crore
The benchmark index saw significant losses across sectors, with energy and finance stocks hit hard. Global oil price hikes sparked fears of inflation and economic slowdown
Mumbai (The Uttam Hindu): Indian stock markets witnessed a significant decline on Monday. The Sensex closed 1,352.74 points, or 1.71 percent, lower at 77,566.16, and the Nifty declined 422.40 points, or 1.73 percent, to 24,028.05.
Auto and banking stocks led the market decline. Nifty Auto closed down 4.10 percent, Nifty PSU Bank 3.97 percent, Nifty Consumer Durables 2.81 percent, Nifty Private Bank 2.78 percent, Nifty Metal 2.60 percent, Nifty PSE 2.39 percent, Nifty Oil & Gas 2.37 percent, and Nifty India Manufacturing 2.36 percent. Only Nifty IT closed with a gain of 0.08 percent.
Along with large-caps, mid-caps and small-caps also declined. The Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 1,127.85 points, or 1.97 percent, to 56,265.50, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index declined 366.70 points, or 2.22 percent, to 16,132.20.
India VIX, which indicates market volatility, also witnessed a surge during the session and closed at 23.36, up 17.50 per cent.
UltraTech Cement, Maruti Suzuki, M&M, SBI, Indigo, Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, L&T, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, BEL, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, HUL, Power Grid and Bajaj Finance were among the losers in the Sensex pack. On the other hand, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and HCL Tech were among the gainers.
Due to the fall in the market, the market cap of all the companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange has decreased by Rs 8 lakh crore to Rs 441 lakh crore, which was earlier Rs 449 lakh crore.
The market's significant decline is being attributed to a surge in crude oil prices. Rising tensions in the Middle East sent Brent crude prices soaring 26 percent on Monday to $119 per barrel.
The decline in crude oil is due to output cuts by countries like Iraq and Kuwait. Qatar had previously announced a reduction in LNG production.
The weakness in the Indian market is due in part to the strengthening dollar. The dollar index, which measures the US currency's strength against six major currencies, has reached its highest level so far this year at 99.70. The Indian rupee is also weakening due to the dollar's strength.