'Avoid panic selling, hold on for...': Edelweiss MF CEO's advice for investors as Sensex, Nifty tumble

Equity benchmark indices took a significant hit on Monday, with the BSE Sensex plunging over 1,000 points to close below the 77,000 level, while the NSE Nifty dropped by 345.55 points to end at 23,085.95. The sell-off was attributed to weak global cues, a stronger dollar, and a spike in crude oil prices. 

Amid the market turmoil, Radhika Gupta, Managing Director and CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund, offered critical advice to investors, underlining the importance of staying calm and maintaining a long-term perspective.

"Today has not been a very pretty day — it’s one of the roughest falls that markets have seen, with midcap indices down 4 per cent,” Gupta said. She highlighted that since hitting their highs last September, markets have fallen approximately 14-15 per cent.

Amid the volatility, Gupta urged investors to avoid panic selling. “With times like this, all the news you see, there is a natural temptation to panic and take action that may not be good for your portfolio,” she noted. "My advice to you would be to embrace the volatility and try to hold on for the long term.”

Gupta also discouraged halting systematic investment plans (SIPs), highlighting the benefit of buying at lower valuations during market corrections. "Let them go on because now you are buying units at cheaper levels. Generally, staggered investment is a good principle in these markets,” she added.

For those considering a shift to cash or fixed deposits, Gupta recommended a balanced approach. "It is better to be in the middle path and be in products like hybrid funds, balanced advantage funds which have a mix of equity and debt,” she advised, emphasising that market cycles include ups and downs and should be navigated with emotional resilience. "Ups and downs are part of the market cycle. But what is very important is not to panic, to control our reactions and to go through our journey with emotional resilience."

The Sensex closed 1,048.90 points or 1.36 per cet lower at 76,330.01, after an intraday plunge of 1,129.19 points. The broader NSE Nifty also declined 1.47 per cent, as over 3,500 stocks ended in the red on the BSE. Key midcap and small-cap indices dropped more than 4 per cent, reflecting widespread selling pressure across sectors.

The sharp decline in Indian markets mirrored global trends, with US payroll data signaling a robust job market and fewer rate cuts in 2025. This pushed bond yields higher and dampened the appeal of emerging markets. Additionally, the rupee registered its steepest single-day fall in two years, closing at 86.62 against the US dollar, further exacerbating investor concerns.

Crude oil prices surged after the US imposed sanctions on Russian energy exports, pushing Brent crude above $80 per barrel. “Rising crude oil prices raise concerns of a spike in domestic inflation, which could further delay any rate cut hopes from the RBI,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.