The decline in the stock market shows no signs of stopping. Every day, investors are suffering huge losses in the market. While investors suffered a loss of approximately ₹6 lakh crore on Thursday, investors suffered a loss of approximately ₹9 lakh crore in the stock market on Friday. The market capitalization of BSE has now come down to ₹431 lakh crore.
Around 1:00 pm, the Sensex—comprising the top 30 stocks—fell 1,500 points, or 1.71%, to 74,538. Nifty 50 fell 453 points, or 1.91%, to 23,185. Bank Nifty also saw a fall of more than 1,300 points. Of the top 30 stocks, 27 saw a decline, while only 3 registered gains. Shares of Tata Steel, BEL, IndiGo and L&T saw a fall of up to 6%.
Why did the stock market fall?
Crude oil prices surged after Iran attacked two oil tankers, raising fears of possible disruptions to oil supplies passing through the Strait of Hormuz. On Thursday, Brent crude futures reached near the $100 per barrel level, after which prices stabilized.
Weak signals from global markets
Global markets also appeared under pressure due to geopolitical tensions. In Asian markets, South Korea’s KOSPI, Japan’s Nikkei 225, China’s SSE Composite Index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index were all trading lower. In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices recorded steep declines. The Dow Jones fell more than 700 points, closing below the 47,000 level for the first time this year.
Heavy selling by FIIs
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling in the domestic market. According to exchange data, FIIs sold shares worth ₹7,049.87 crore on Thursday. So far in the month of March, foreign investors have sold shares worth more than ₹39,000 crore.
Focus on US Fed policy
Investors are also waiting for a policy decision from the Federal Reserve, which is scheduled to meet on March 17. Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities, said that it is generally expected that the Central Bank will not make any change in interest rates.
