The NSE Nifty slumped 235.50 points or 0.93 per cent to 25,014.60.
Mumbai: Friday, 04 October 2024, saw the stock markets fall for the fifth straight day with Sensex plummeting 808 points in a topsy-turvy session as FMCG, auto, and energy shares surrendered to intense selling and foreign fund outflows triggered by the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex fell 808.65 points or 0.98 per cent to settle at a three-week low of 81,688.45. The benchmark hit a low of 81,532.68 and a high of 83,368.32 during the day, reflecting a wild swing of 1,835.64 points.
The NSE Nifty slumped 235.50 points or 0.93 per cent to 25,014.60. Intra-day, it hit a low of 24,966.80 and a high of 25,485.05.
How much did investors lose?
This led the investors to lose a huge amount of Rs 16.26 lakh crore in five days of heavy correction in equities. The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms slumped Rs 16,26,691.48 crore to Rs 4,60,89,598.54 crore (USD 5.49 trillion) in five days since Friday last.
On weekly basis, Sensex tanked 3,883.4 points or 4.6 per cent and Nifty by 1,164.35 points or 4.5 per cent in just four sessions, which was their worst week in past two years.
Biggest winners and losers
Major losers from the 30 Sensex firms include Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Nestle, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, and HDFC Bank.
In contrast, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, and State Bank of India were among the gainers.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 15,243.27 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
“Nifty ended lower for the fifth consecutive session on Friday. It recorded its worst week in over two years amid rising tensions in the Middle East,” said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said, “The bearish sentiment continued as investors are monitoring the escalating conflict in the Middle East and have adopted a sell-on recovery strategy.”
The pessimism on the market is expected to continue in the near term amidst rising crude prices and fund flows to cheaper markets like China, he added.
Among the indices, realty fell the most by 1.60 per cent. Auto (1.50 per cent), telecommunication (1.25 per cent), utilities (1.20 per cent), consumer discretionary (1.18 per cent) and commodities (1.14 per cent) were among losers.
IT emerged as the only gainer
A total of 2,387 stocks declined while 1,563 advanced and 104 remained unchanged.
“The increase in geopolitical tensions between Israel and Iran weighed on risk assets. In global news, mounting geopolitical tensions have contributed to a shaky start in October for the stock market,” Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research, Kotak Securities, said.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, and Hong Kong settled in the positive territory. Markets in mainland China are closed due to a holiday.
(With PTI inputs)