Investors’ wealth declined over Rs 2 lakh crore amid heavy selling pressure as the domestic indices extended their fall for the third straight session on Tuesday, just a day ahead of the RBI's policy outcome. The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 567 points (1.02 per cent) to settle at 55,107, while the broader NSE Nifty ended at 16,416, down 153 points on Tuesday.
In tandem with weak equities, the market capitalisation of the BSE-listed companies tumbled by Rs 2,08,291.75 crore to Rs 2,54,33,013.63 crore, according to the BSE data.
"Investors are in a wait and watch mood ahead of the RBI's credit policy announcement. The market has simply borne the brunt of unabated FII selling, which continues to desert Indian equities amid weakening rupee and strengthening dollar," said Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research (retail) at Kotak Securities, told the PTI.
On the BSE, Titan was the biggest laggard, falling 4.48 per cent, followed by Dr Reddy's, Larsen & Toubro, HUL, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, TCS, and ICICI Bank.
On the other hand, NTPC, Maruti, M&M, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, and Power Grid managed to settle in the green.
"Markets inched lower and lost a per cent amid mixed cues. Initially, weakness in the global markets was weighing on the sentiment and continued selling in banking, FMCG and IT majors kept the pressure intact till the end. The focus will be on MPC's meeting outcome on Wednesday," said Ajit Mishra, VP - research at Religare Broking.
In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge declined 0.77 per cent and the smallcap index dipped 0.67 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, consumer durables tanked 2.71 per cent, followed by realty (1.57 per cent), capital goods (1.53 per cent), FMCG (1.42 per cent), IT (1.42 per cent), teck (1.32 per cent) and basic materials (1.17 per cent). In contrast, oil & gas, energy, telecom, utilities, auto and power ended with gains.
A total of 2,011 stocks declined, while 1,286 advanced and 121 remained unchanged.
With PTI inputs