BSE benchmark plummets below 800 points nine times in the last eight years Total investor wealth slumps by nearly `3 lakh cr as shares of over 2,200 listed firms end in the red
Dalal Street on Tuesday witnessed a bloodbath as BSE benchmark Sensex crashed by 855 points and investors lost nearly Rs 3 lakh crore of their wealth as shares of over 2,200 listed firms ended in the red. This is the worst ever crash in the last five and a half years as stock markets across the world went into a tailspin amid speculation about probable exit of Greece from the Euro region and oil prices cracking below $50 per barrel mark.
Tracking a steep fall in local share market, even rupee washed out initial gains and ended with a loss of 16 paise at over-one week low of 63.57 against the Greenback.The BSE benchmark index Sensex closed at 26,987.46, down 854.86 points or 3.07 per cent while Nifty tanked 251 points, or 3 per cent, on massive selling across sectors.
After crude oil price fell below USD 50 per barrel, the first time in almost 5 years, markets were spooked by fears of an disorderly exit of Greece from the Euro zone.The BSE benchmark index Sensex closed at 26,987.46, down 854.86 points or 3.07 per cent while Nifty tanked 251 points, or 3 per cent, on massive selling across sectors.After crude oil price fell below $ 50 per barrel, the first time in almost 5 years, markets were spooked by fears of an disorderly exit of Greece from the Euro zone.
Oil prices continued to drop, with the US benchmark contract briefly falling below $50 a barrel for the first time in more than five years on concerns about ample global supplies and weakening economic growth.Oil & Gas, realty, metal, capital goods, auto, consumer durable and Banking shares took the lead in the downslide.“The sharp fall in markets came as a surprise and was likely driven by the weak global markets. There are concerns about the weakness in the global economy (crude prices have been falling sharply) as well as the after–effects of a potential exit of Greece from EU,” said Kotak Securities, Head of Private Client Group Research, Dipen Shah.
The BSE 30-share gauge resumed with a downside gap and gradually moved southwards to break 27,000-mark to a low of 26,937.06 before concluding at 26,987.46 -- logging a steep fall of 854.86 points or 3.07 per cent. This its worst drop since 869.65-point crash on July 6, 2009.As many as 29 out of 30 Sensex-based scrips closed in the red with the biggest loser ONGC falling 6 per cent while HUl was the lone gainer.In tandem with overall trends, the BSE small-cap and mid-cap indices lost 2.95 per cent each respectively.
The 50-issue NSE Nifty stumbled by 251.05 points, or 3.00 per cent, to end near 8,100-level at 8,127.35.As stock markets crashed sharply, the marketplace was rife with speculation about a ‘fat finger trade’ in a future contract of benchmark Nifty even as NSE officials maintained that trading was normal. Fears mounted that an election in embattled Greece later this month could put the opposition anti-austerity party Syriza in power, jeopardizing the country’s economic reforms mandated by the international financial rescue, analysts said.
Japan’s Nikkei led an Asian share slump following painful losses in New York and Europe. Asian markets ended sharply lower after stocks onWall Street declined overnight following the relentless fall in oil prices. Indices in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea fell by 0.32-0.99 per cent. However, Shanghai Composite moved up by 0.03 per cent.
European stocks were also trading lower as indices in France, Germany and the UK fell 0.24-1.13 per cent.Meanwhile, provisional data showed that foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth net Rs 472 crore yesterday.Major Sensex losers include ONGC (5.89 per cent), Sesa Sterlite (5.09 per cent), Tata Steel (4.88 per cent), HDFC (4.69 per cent), Reliance Industries (4.67 per cent), BHEl (4.45 per cent) and Tata Motors (4.39 per cent).