Stock Market: Sensex Crashes Over 800 Points, Nifty Settles Below 19,300

On the 30-share Sensex platform, M&M and Bajaj Finance emerged as the only gainers and JSW Steel, Tata Steel, TCS, Tata Motors, and Wipro emerged as the biggest losers.

The domestic equities markets took a major beating on Monday after both benchmark indices ended trading in red. The S&P BSE Sensex crashed 800 points in Monday trade after the benchmark 10-year US treasury note increased more than 5 per cent for the first time since 2007. The Nifty50 index also ended closed the day in the negative zone. 

Sensex, after opening at 65,419.02 in the morning, took a nosedive and settled at 64,571.88, at a loss of 825.74 points. The NSE Nifty50 also ended trading at 19,278.30, registering a drop of nearly 264.35 points. 

On the 30-share Sensex platform, M&M and Bajaj Finance emerged as the only gainers. All the other companies ended trading in losses, where JSW Steel, Tata Steel, TCS, Tata Motors, and Wipro emerged as the biggest losers. Among specific stocks, JSW Steel shares dropped nearly 3 per cent making it the largest loss taking firm in the Sensex index. 

In the broader market, the BSE Smallcap index declined 4.18 per cent, while the Midcap index decreased 2.51 per cent. The Nifty Microcap 250 registered the largest loss of 5.11 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 50 dipped 3.89 per cent. 

All the sectoral indices ended in the red with media, metal, and PSU bank indices logging the sharpest drops of 4.98 per cent, 3.26 per cent, and 3.77 per cent respectively. 

In the previous session on Friday, the S&P BSE Sensex hit a low of 65,309 during the day. The benchmark finally settled at 65,398, dropping 232 points. In the last three consecutive trading sessions, the Sensex has shed 1,031 points. The NSE Nifty50, on the other hand, hit a low of 19,519 during intraday, and closed with a loss of 82 points at 19,543. 

Asian markets ended trading in red after a negative opening in the morning due to muted investor sentiments affected by the Israel-Palestine conflict. The US markets ended lower on Friday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.04 per cent to $92.18 a barrel. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 456.21 crore on Friday, data from the exchanges revealed. Notably, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have withdrawn over Rs 12,000 crore from Indian equities this month, as of October 20.

Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 6 paise to settle at 83.18 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday. The domestic unit opened at 83.13 against the American dollar. This decline was attributed to the sharp losses in the local market. Forex dealers noted that easing crude oil prices and a flat greenback helped support the domestic unit's fall. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 83.13 and traded in a range of 83.19 and 83.09 during the day to finally close at 83.18 (provisional) against the greenback.

The Indian stock markets will remain closed on Tuesday on account of the festival of Dussehra.