New Delhi, March 19: Equity investors faced a massive erosion of wealth on Thursday as the Indian stock market experienced its sharpest single-day decline since June 2024. The BSE Sensex plummeted by 2,496.89 points, or 3.26 per cent, to settle at 74,207.24, wiping out approximately Rs 12.87 lakh crore in market capitalization.
Financial analysts stated that the downturn was primarily fueled by escalating conflict in West Asia, specifically targeting energy infrastructure. This geopolitical instability caused Brent crude prices to surge by 6.21 per cent, reaching USD 114 per barrel. Industry experts maintained that the rise in oil costs, coupled with a hawkish stance from the U.S. Federal Reserve, severely dampened investor sentiment.
The market capitalization of all BSE-listed companies fell to Rs 426.13 lakh crore during the session. “Renewed strikes between Israel and Iran targeting critical oil and LNG infrastructure have reignited concerns over global energy supply disruptions,” affirmed Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money. He noted that the sell-off effectively ended a three-day recovery rally in the domestic indices.
Sectoral performance remained universally negative, with the auto and realty indices leading the decline. HDFC Bank saw a significant drop of 5.13 per cent following the resignation of its chairman. Market observers declared that continued outflows from foreign institutional investors further pressured the indices, as 3,192 stocks closed in the red compared to only 1,051 gainers.
