Sensex, Nifty crash: Investor wealth slips by Rs 4 lakh crore as market falls for fifth straight session

Investor wealth fell by Rs 4 lakh crore (intra day) as Sensex and Nifty tumbled for the fifth straight session on Monday. The market capitalisation of the BSE firms stood at Rs 402 lakh crore on February 21. In the current session, investor wealth slipped to Rs 397.90 lakh crore. With the current phase of correction, Sensex is down 5.19% and Nifty has lost 5.06% in 2025.

On Monday, Sensex crashed 868 pts to 74,442 and Nifty slipped 249 pts to 22,547. 

Weak global cues, lacklustre Q3 earnings season, rising concerns over US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff threats and  persistent selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have turned sentiment negative in the last six months. 

In the current session, stocks such as HCL Technologies, Infosys, Zomato, TCS, Tata Steel and Bharti Airtel led the losers on Sensex, falling up to 4%. On the other hand, M&M, ITC, Kotak Bank and Nestle India were the only Sensex gainers, rising up to 1.44%. 

All 13 sectoral indices were trading in the red on BSE.  

As many as 50 stocks hit their 52-week highs today. On the other hand, 261 shares fell to their 52-week lows on BSE today.

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said, "The market is facing headwinds from relentless FII selling and global uncertainties relating to Trump tariffs. The sharp surge in Chinese stocks is another near-term headwind. The ‘Sell India, Buy China’ trade may continue for some time since Chinese stocks continue to be attractive. The sharp spike in CBOE VIX indicates that volatility will continue for some time. In the US, long-term inflation expectations are rising and, therefore, the expected rate cut by the Fed is unlikely to materialise. The Fed might even turn hawkish, impacting US stock markets. If this happens and the US bond yields start declining, FIIs may cease to be sellers in India and may even resume buying. The near-term scenario is highly uncertain."

Market breadth was in red. Out of 4127 stocks traded, 1133 stocks were in the green on BSE. Around 2807 stocks were trading in the red while 187 stocks remained unchanged.

Around 341 stocks hit their lower circuits as the stock market ended lower. On the other hand, 193 shares hit their upper circuit limits amid weak sentiment on BSE.

BSE midcap index fell 370 pts to 40,003. BSE small cap stock index crashed 489 pts to 45,366 level, indicating weakness in the broader market.

Foreign institutional investors sold Rs 3,449 crore worth of equities on a net basis on Friday, while domestic investors bought Rs 2,884 crore of shares, as per provisional NSE data.