Sensex, Nifty crash on ‘Black Monday’
New Delhi: Indian benchmark indices opened on a grim note on Monday, weighed down by a global selloff as concerns over growth and fallout from US tariffs deepened the prevailing risk-off sentiment.
The BSE Sensex index plunged 3,939 points in the intraday trade to hit a low of 71,425.01 during the day.
The NSE Nifty50, meanwhile, breached below the 21,800-mark to hit a low of 21,743. The index dropped 1,160 points intraday, registering its worst fall since June 4 last year.
The Nifty closed 3.24 per cent lower at 22,161.6, while the Sensex ended 2.95 per cent down at 73,137.9.
In the broader market, the Nifty MidCap index and the Nifty SmallCap index declined as much as 7.5 per cent and 9.92 per cent, respectively.
Meanwhile, the gauge of market volatility — India VIX — spiked by nearly 60 per cent, to the highest level since June 4.
Indian markets have opened with a significant gap down, mirroring the weak global sentiments, according to Ruchit Jain, head of technical research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. “In such conditions, the global news flow is likely to depict the near term market moves and hence short term traders should just keep a wait and watch approach for time being.”
The heightened uncertainty comes as global stocks rout extended after Beijing announced 34 per cent tariffs on all imports from the US. Japanese futures were suspended due to the market hitting circuit breakers. The benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 5.92 per cent, with the Hang Seng Index declining 8.95 per cent. Meanwhile, mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 5.41%.
No one has a clue about how this turbulence caused by Trump’s tariffs will evolve, noted VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments. “Wait and watch would be the best strategy in this turbulent phase of the market.”
Domestic consumption themes like financials, aviation, hotels, select autos, cement, defence and digital platform companies are likely to come out relatively unscathed from the ongoing crisis, he said.
