Investor wealth slumped by Rs 1.55 lakh crore on Thursday, dragged down by massive selling in the stock markets where nearly seven out of ten shares closed lower.
The BSE’s benchmark Sensex nosedived by 526.41 points or 2.74 per cent to 18,719.29, registering its biggest single day fall since September 2011 on fears of fund outflows if the Federal Reserve sticks to its plan of slowing down monetary stimulus later this year.
The broad-based National Stock Exchange Index Nifty plunged 166.35 points, or 2.86 per cent to close at 5,655.90.
Led by the huge sell-off in the stock market, investor wealth worth Rs 1.55 lakh crore slumped to end at Rs 63.21 lakh crore.
Among the Sensex constituents, barring Wipro and Sun Pharma, 28 stocks ended the day with losses in the range of 0.18 to 9.62 per cent. All the BSE 13 sectoral indices also ended the day lower, led by the realty index.
Market movers such as RIL, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank lost 3.84 per cent, 4.29 per cent and 3.75 per cent, respectively.
The market breadth was negative as 1,690 stocks fell while just 612 rose.
“The announcement on progressive roll back of current stimulus package by the Fed Chairman set a negative tone for markets across the globe. The situation worsened with the rupee hitting an all-time low against the dollar and additionally, China reported further weakness in manufacturing activity,” said Jayant Manglik, President Retail Distribution, Religare Securities Ltd.
The rupee slumped to an all-time low of 59.93 against the dollar, mirroring a weak trend in other global currencies.
US Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said yesterday the Federal Reserve will likely slow its bond-buying programme later this year and ultimately end it next year because the US economy is showing strong signs of recovery.
