Rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have once again shaken global markets. Thursday proved to be a day of huge decline for the stock market. Both Sensex and Nifty closed with a fall of more than 3 percent. HDFC Bank reached near its 52-week low, which also put a lot of pressure on Bank Nifty. The Sensex closed at 74,207, down 2,496 points. Nifty closed at 23,002 with a fall of 775 points. Bank Nifty closed at 53,451, down 1,875 points. Midcap and Smallcap indices also closed with a decline of 3 per cent. Midcap 100 fell by nearly 1,797 points to close at 54,492, while Smallcap 100 fell by 475 points to 15,704.
Huge turmoil in the market today
Today, market capitalization fell by a staggering ₹11 lakh crore. The market saw its biggest decline since February 24, 2022. During intraday trading, Nifty fell 3.4% and slipped below the 23,000 level. Bank Nifty reached 11 month low. Crude oil prices experienced huge fluctuations, reaching as high as $116 per barrel. The India VIX—a gauge of market volatility—rose 21%.
Where was the decline most visible?
Selling pressure was dominant across all sectors, with Auto, Realty, IT and PSU Banks being hit the most. The increase in crude oil prices also affected different sectors. While ONGC witnessed marginal gains, shares of aviation, oil marketing and tire companies remained under pressure; Shares like IndiGo, HPCL and JK Tire declined. Weakness was also evident in banking stocks, with HDFC Bank, IDFC First Bank, Axis Bank and Bank of Baroda all suffering losses. Today, the auto sector emerged as the weakest sector with huge losses seen in stocks like Ashok Leyland, M&M, Samvardhan Motherson and Bharat Forge. At the same time, stocks like Shriram Finance, Nuvoco Vistas, Rain Industries and Eternal were among the biggest losers.
However, amid this falling market, the sugar sector showed some strength with gains seen in Avadh Sugar, Triveni Engineering, Balrampur Chini and Dwarikesh Sugar. Besides, stocks like ITI, Adani Total Gas, ACME Solar and Safari Industries were among the top gainers, showing strength despite overall market weakness.