Sensex Crashes 271 Points, Nifty Ends Below 24,450 as Market Wealth Tanks ₹12 Lakh Crore
Mumbai (The Uttam Hindu): The Indian stock market ended Friday’s trading session in the red, with benchmark indices closing lower amid heavy selling pressure across sectors. At market close, the BSE Sensex slipped 270.92 points, or 0.34%, to 78,809.65, while the NSE Nifty 50 fell 74.05 points, or 0.30%, to settle at 24,426.85.
Broad-based weakness was seen across segments. The Nifty Midcap 100 dropped 320.10 points (0.57%) to 55,727.40, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 declined 67.35 points (0.39%) to 17,227.00. Most sectoral indices ended in the red, with Auto, IT, Realty, and Oil & Gas stocks leading the losses. On the other hand, FMCG, Media, Defence, and Consumer Durables managed to stay in positive territory.
₹12 Lakh Crore Investor Wealth Wiped Out in 5 Months’ Biggest Fall. For investors, the past week has been particularly painful. The market capitalization of BSE-listed companies dropped from ₹4,55,41,312.90 crore on August 25 to ₹4,43,41,862.39 crore on August 29. This translates to a staggering loss of ₹11,99,450.51 crore in just four trading sessions, marking the steepest erosion in five months.
Gainers and Losers
In the Sensex pack, ITC, BEL, Trent, L&T, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, HCL Tech, Bharti Airtel, and Power Grid emerged as the top gainers. On the flip side, M&M, Reliance Industries, Infosys, NTPC, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank were among the major laggards.
Expert Take
According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, investor sentiment remained cautious as markets assessed the full impact of new US tariffs. “While the issue persists, some sectors could see increased competitiveness in India’s exports. However, equity benchmarks remained weak today, especially in the midcap and smallcap segments,” he said.
Meanwhile, FMCG stocks stayed resilient, buoyed by expectations of rationalized GST rates and robust consumer demand.
Interestingly, the market had opened on a positive note, with Nifty 50 rising 36 points to 24,537 and Sensex climbing 118 points to 80,199 during early trade, before slipping into losses later in the session.