Sensex, Nifty fall 1% each wiping out ₹6 lakh crore: Major reasons why
Sensex and Nifty indices dropped sharply, influenced by falling heavyweight stocks like Reliance and HDFC Bank.
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tanked dragged by decline in heavyweight stocks Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and spiralling conflict in the Middle East. The BSE Sensex tumbled 1,264.2 points to 83,002.09 in early trade. The NSE Nifty slumped 345.3 points to 25,451.60.
Major gainers and losers today
From the 30 Sensex firms, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Maruti, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were the major laggards.
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JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma and NTPC were among the gainers. The market capitalisation of all listed companies on BSE declined by ₹5.63 lakh crore to ₹469.23 lakh crore.
Here are the key reasons behind stock market crash today:
1. Middle east tensions
The stock market declined amid escalating hostilities between Iran and Israel. Israeli military confirmed the deaths of eight soldiers, including a team commander, during ground operations in southern Lebanon after Iranian missile attacks targeted Tel Aviv. Israel's military chief has warned of an imminent response.
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2. Crude oil prices
Oil prices increased amid escalating tensions in the Middle East as this could threaten supplies from major producers. Brent crude briefly surpassed $75 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate topped $72, with both benchmarks rising nearly 5% over the past three days.
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Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said, “The situation will change if Israel attacks any oil installations in Iran which will trigger a huge spike in crude. If it happens, it can turn out to be more damaging for oil importers like India. Therefore, investors should watch the emerging situation very closely.”
3. Sebi tightens F&O measures
Market regulator Sebi tightened rules in the futures and options (F&O) segment. New measures include limiting weekly expiries to one per exchange and increasing contract sizes which may reduce trading volumes.
