Stock Market Crash: Sensex Tanks 1,422 Points, Nifty Trades Below 15,800 Tracking Weak Global Cues

Stock update: On the BSE platform, barring HUL, Nestle, Maruti, and PowerGrid, all were trading in the red. Bajaj Finserv was the prime loser, down 5.69 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance

Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Monday crashed during early morning trade tracking weak global cues. The mood of the investors turned sour after the US inflation that jumped to a new 40-year high of 8.6 per cent in May and unrelenting foreign fund outflows.  

All eyes will be on the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meet scheduled on Wednesday, June 15, as investors fear aggressive rate hikes on the cards.

At 12 noon, the BSE Sensex plunged 1,422 points to 52,897, while the broader NSE Nifty was trading at 15,795, down 406 points.

On the 30-share BSE Sensex platform, barring HUL, Nestle, Maruti, and PowerGrid, all were trading in the red. Bajaj Finserv was the prime loser, down 5.69 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance.

Weakness in index majors Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank also weighed on the domestic equity markets.

The broader markets were also in tandem with the frontline indices. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices fell 2.3 and 2.4 per cent, respectively.

All sectors logged steep losses, led by Nifty PSBs that cracked 4 per cent, while Nifty Realty, Banks, and Financials were the next top losers, sliding 3 per cent each. 

In its previous trading on Friday, the BSE benchmark index had ended 1,016 points (1.84 per cent) lower at 54,303, while the broader NSE Nifty plunged 276 points (1.68 per cent) to 16,201.

Asian stocks sank on Monday, and bond yields ticked higher, with Chinese blue chips dropping 0.84 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng suffering a 2.9 per cent slide. Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Tokyo, and Shanghai were trading with deep cuts in mid-session deals. Stock exchanges in the US ended sharply lower on Friday.

"The near-term market trend is weak. The May US inflation print at 8.6 per cent against the market expectation of 8.3 per cent is likely to turn the Fed more hawkish. Such a scenario would be negative for risky assets like equity, particularly in the context of declining global growth. The Indian market will stabilize only when the US market stabilises," V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services told the PTI.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell 1.37 per cent to $120.31 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 3,973.95 crore on Friday, as per exchange data.