Share Market Today: The two major equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, plunged sharply on Thursday due to escalating tensions between Iran and Israel. The BSE Sensex index crashed 2 per cent or 1,769 points to 82,497. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 settled below the 25,300-mark. The index fell 547 points (2.12 per cent) to close at 25,250. The BSE Sensex index hit an intraday low of 82,434, while the Nifty50 sank to 25,230 during intraday.
Stock update
On the 30-share Sensex platform, barring JSW Steel, all other indices closed in the red, with L&T, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Maruti, Asian Paints are the prime losers.
Investor wealth worth Rs 11 trillion got wiped off due to bloodbath on Dalal Street.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap index declined 2.2 per cent while the Nifty Smallcap index dipped 1.9 per cent.
The volatility index, India VIX, jumped 9.4 per cent on Thursday.
Sectoral update
All sectors experienced a sharp decline, with the Nifty Realty index leading the losses, dropping 4.6 per cent, followed by the Nifty Auto index down 2.7 per cent, and the Nifty Private Bank index falling 2.5 per cent.
Markets were closed on Wednesday, October 2, on account of celebrations of Gandhi Jayanti. In the previous session on Tuesday, the BSE Sensex ended 33 points at 84,266, while the NSE Nifty50 closed at 25,796, down 14 points.
"The domestic market took a sharp downturn following Iran’s launch of ballistic missiles at Israel, sparking fears of retaliation and escalation in war,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said.
Sectoral update
In Asian markets, Hong Kong settled lower while Tokyo ended in the positive territory. Markets in mainland China will be closed for the rest of the week due to holiday. European markets were trading mostly lower. The US markets ended marginally higher on Wednesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,579.35 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.37 per cent to $74.91 a barrel.
Rupee tanks 14 paise
Rupee depreciated 14 paise to settle at 83.96 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, as volatile geopolitical situation triggered a surge in crude oil prices and weighed down by a steep fall of over two per cent in domestic equity markets. According to forex traders, a strong American currency and unabated outflow of foreign funds fuelled by the bullish Chinese markets also accelerated the rupee's slide.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened at 83.91 and touched the low of 83.97 against the greenback during intra-day. The unit ended the session at 83.96 (provisional) against the American currency, registering a steep loss of 14 paise from its previous closing level. On Tuesday, the rupee settled 3 paise lower at 83.82 against the American currency. Forex markets were closed on Wednesday on account of Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti.