Stock market plumps as US tariff news wipes out ₹8 lakh crore of investor wealth

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The Indian stock market witnessed heavy selling on Thursday, closing in the red for the fourth consecutive day. This market chaos caused the Sensex and Nifty to crash. At the end of Thursday's trading session, the BSE Sensex fell 780 points, or 0.92 percent, to close at 84,181, while the NSE Nifty fell 264 points, or 1.01 percent, to 25,877. Looking at the data from just the past four days, the Sensex has recorded a massive decline of nearly 1,600 points. The Sensex, which was at 85,762 on January 2nd, has now fallen to around 84,180. Similarly, the Nifty has also slipped 400 points during these four trading days.

The main reason for this massive market decline is believed to be news coming from the US, which has increased investors' concerns. In fact, a new bill, the "Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025," has been introduced in the US to put economic pressure on Russia. This strategic move by US President Donald Trump proposes imposing tariffs of up to 500 percent on countries like India, China, and Brazil that buy oil from Russia. The mere mention of a 500 percent tariff has shaken the Indian stock market, and investors have begun withdrawing from the market, fearing future uncertainty.

Investors have suffered significant financial losses in this widespread sell-off. By Thursday's market close, the BSE's total market cap had fallen by approximately ₹8.11 lakh crore. Investor wealth, which had been ₹479.94 lakh crore in the previous session, has now fallen to ₹471.82 lakh crore. Major companies like Reliance Industries, L&T, TCS, Infosys, SBI, and HDFC Bank played a major role in dragging the market down. Of the top 30 Sensex stocks, only four remained in the green. L&T fell the most by 3.35 percent, followed by Tech Mahindra by 2.94 percent, and TCS by 2.74 percent. Zomato and ICICI Bank saw marginal gains.