Investor wealth tumbles over Rs 8 lakh crore in 5 days of market plunge

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New Delhi: Equity investors became poorer by over Rs 8 lakh crore in five days of market plunge.

The BSE benchmark has lost 2,062.99 points or 4% in five trading sessions. On March 18, the 30-share BSE benchmark tanked 585.10 points or 1.17% to close at 49,216.52.

Following the bearish trend, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies declined by Rs 8,04,216.71 crore to Rs 2,01,22,436.75 crore in five days.

“Indian market has been in a corrective phase for the past 10 days due factors like high bond yields in the US and increased number of COVID cases being reported across the country,” said Hemang Jani, Head Equity Strategy, Broking & Distribution, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

After its two-day policy meeting, the US Federal Reserve reassured investors that it expects to keep its key interest rate near zero through 2023.

HCL Tech was the biggest laggard in the Sensex pack, falling 3.97%, followed by Infosys, Dr Reddy’s, TCS, Tech Mahindra and Reliance Industries.

In contrast, ITC, Bajaj Auto, M&M, Maruti and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers, gaining up to 3.25%.

“Having seen a brisk gap-up opening on positive global cues, domestic equities fell sharply for the fifth consecutive day as sharp rise in coronavirus cases in the country made investors jittery. The mounting concerns of possible fresh economic restrictions made enthusiasm of dovish commentary from the Federal Reserve short-lived for domestic markets,” said Binod Modi, Head Strategy at Reliance Securities said.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap and smallcap indices fell by up to 1.58%. Among BSE indices, IT, tech, energy, healthcare, realty and capital goods declined up to 3.02%.