India News | Sensex Tanks 1,235 Pts to 7-month Low, Investors Lose over Rs 7 Lakh Cr in Single Day

Mumbai, Jan 21 (PTI) Benchmark Sensex tanked 1,235 points to settle at more than seven-month low due to an across-the-board selloff triggered by global tariff war worries and persistent foreign fund outflows, making investors poorer by over Rs 7 lakh crore.

The 30-share BSE Sensex plummeted 1,235.08 points or 1.60 per cent to settle at 75,838.36 dragged by losses in ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries. During the day, the BSE benchmark plummeted 1,431.57 points or 1.85 per cent to hit an intraday low of 75,641.87.

Also Read | Robert Pattinson Opens Up About Fatherhood, Says 'My Baby's Smell Is Incredible'.

The broader NSE Nifty plunged 320.10 points or 1.37 per cent to close at 23,024.65, a level not seen since June 6, 2024. In the intraday trade, the NSE Nifty plunged 367.9 points or 1.57 per cent to 22,976.85.

The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies eroded by Rs 7,52,520.34 crore to Rs 4,24,07,205.81 crore or USD 4.90 trillion.

Also Read | Share Market Today: Sensex Tanks Over 1,200 Points, Nifty Ends at 23,024 Amid US President Donald Trump's Tariff Threats to BRICS Nations and Other Countries.

"Domestic markets experienced a significant decline today, with heightened volatility, followed by Trump's announcement of trade tariffs on neighbouring countries on his inauguration day, adding uncertainty into global markets.

"The weak recovery in the ongoing Q3 earnings, coupled with a depreciating INR, are likely to prompt further outflows from FIIs," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said.

Among Sensex shares, Zomato fell the most by 10.92 per cent due to weak Q3 earnings. NTPC, Adani Ports, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra and Axis Bank were among the major laggards.

UltraTech Cement and HCL Technologies were the only gainers.

The BSE midcap gauge declined 2 per cent and smallcap index slumped 1.94 per cent.

Among BSE sectoral indices, Realty nosedived the most by 4.22 per cent, followed by Consumer Durables (3.99 per cent), Consumer Discretionary by (2.90 per cent), Services (2.86 per cent), Power (2.63 per cent), Telecommunication (2.52 per cent) and Utilities (2.35 per cent) were among the laggards.

As many as 2,788 stocks declined while 1,187 advanced and 113 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd said, "Markets were on a cautious mode in the past few sessions, but witnessed frenzied selling on Tuesday as investors now fear that Trump's inaugural speech to safeguard America's interest could hurt economic prospects of many countries, including India, going ahead. While foreign investors continue to offload domestic shares at will, any further rise in US bond yields could trigger massive selling."

In Asian markets, Tokyo and Hong Kong ended higher, while Shanghai and Seoul settled on a flat note on Tuesday. European markets were trading higher on Tuesday. US markets were closed on Monday on the occasion of Martin Luther King Jr Day.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.76 per cent to USD 79.54 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,336.54 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

On Monday, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 454.11 points to settle at 77,073.44 and NSE Nifty climbed 141.55 points to close at 23,344.75.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)