Sensex plunges over 800 points, investors lose ₹10L crore
What's the story
Indian equity benchmark indices witnessed a major fall today as Sensex plunged over 800 points to nearly ₹75,348, while Nifty declined below the key level of 23,000 to trade at around 22,826.
The stock market's performance has largely been affected by the continuous selling by foreign portfolio investors and dismal corporate earnings for the December quarter.
The market capitalization of BSE-listed firms fell to ₹410 lakh crore from ₹419.5 lakh crore, wiping out nearly ₹10 lakh crore in a day.
Global impact
Global market trends and investor reactions
Asian stocks rose in early trade, even as caution prevailed over a global rebound after President Donald Trump decided to impose tariffs and sanctions on Colombia.
Gold prices edged lower in early Asian hours on Monday as the dollar gained, while investors awaited further guidance on interest rate decisions from the US Federal Reserve's meeting later this week.
Oil prices also fell over 1% after Trump called on OPEC to reduce prices.
Currency fluctuations
Dollar strengthens amid Trump's tariff plans
The dollar firmed on Monday as traders pondered the ramifications of Trump's tariff plans at the start of a week where the Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates steady.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned net sellers, offloading shares worth ₹2,758 crore on Friday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth ₹2,402 crore.
The net short position of FIIs reduced from ₹3.28 lakh crore on Thursday to ₹3.09 lakh crore on Friday.
Market forecast
Technical analysis predicts weak near-term trend for Nifty
The upcoming week is extremely crucial for both the equity markets and the economy as India's Union Budget will be presented on February 1.
A special trading session has also been scheduled to enable real-time reactions to policy announcements.
Technical analysis indicates that the Nifty's near-term trend remains weak, with a possible downside toward 22,800 levels.