Mkt falls for 5th day: Investors poorer by over Rs 19.50 lakh cr

Investors have become poorer by a massive Rs 19,50,288.05 crore as equity market sell-offs continued for the fifth day in a row on Monday.

The BSE Sensex plunged 1,545.67 points or 2.62 per cent to settle at 57,491.51 on Monday, while, the NSE Nifty slumped 468.05 points or 2.66 per cent to settle at 17,149.10.

This is the steepest single-day drop for the indices in about two months.

Over the last five sessions, the 30-share Sensex has tumbled 3,817.4 points or 6.22 per cent.

As a result of hectic selling over the five days, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies have eroded by a whopping Rs 19,50,288.05 crore to Rs 2,60,52,149.66 crore.

On Monday alone, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms tanked by Rs 9,13,651.88 crore.

Interestingly on January 17 this year, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies had reached a record high of Rs 280 lakh crore.

"Fears of higher-than- expected rate tightening by the Fed and the heightened tensions on the Russia-Ukraine border had created the perfect storm that spooked the markets.

"FPIs have been stepping up their sales during the last several day's,"  said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

In Monday's trade, Tata Steel was the biggest drag among the 30-share frontline companies pack, falling 5.98 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Titan, Reliance Industries and HCL Tech.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap index declined by 4.43 per cent and midcap index tanked 3.82 per cent.

"Markets have been correcting in the last few days on the back of fears of interest rate hikes across the developed economies plus the ongoing tapering of stimulus.

"Though the Covid numbers are still something to ponder on, but Omicron variant not being as severe has made market believe that the days of easy liquidity seem to be nearing an end," Devang Mehta, head - equity advisory, Centrum Wealth, said.

Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said, "Markets plunged sharply lower and lost nearly 3 per cent pressurised by weak global cues.

"We expect volatility to remain high as investors await the Fed meet outcome.

"Moreover, pre-budget jitters, earnings announcements and upcoming monthly expiry would further add to the choppiness."

Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters