Stock market crash today: BSE Sensex plunges 500 points, Nifty50 below 21,500 as Dalal Street hit by bear attack | India Business News – Times of India

Stock market today: Indian equity benchmark indices, BSE Sensex and Nifty50, continued their downward spiral in trade on Thursday. The BSE Sensex fell below the 71,000 mark, dropping over 800 points to reach a day’s low of 70,665. Similarly, Nifty50 slipped below the 21,400 level, reaching below the 21,300 mark.
At 11:12 AM, BSE Sensex was trading at 71,268.10, down over 230 points or 0.33%, while Nifty50 was at 21,483.05, down almost 90 points or 0.41%.
Several stocks on the Sensex also experienced a decline, with Power Grid and Asian Paints declining by 4.5% and 3.3% respectively. Bajaj Finance, Wipro, and Bajaj Finserv opened in the red, while Tata Motors, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, and UltraTech Cement opened in the green.
NHPC shares witnessed a significant drop of 6% after the Indian government announced a 3.5% stake sale in the firm. The floor price for the sale has been set at Rs 66 per share, which is a 10% discount on the closing price on Wednesday.
Various sectors also experienced a decline, with Nifty IT falling by 1.5% due to the decline in LTIMindtree, Mphasis, and Coforge. Nifty Bank, Auto, Financial Services, FMCG, Metal, Realty, and Healthcare also opened in the red, according to an ET report.

Here are the key factors contributing to today’s stock market dip:
1. HDFC Bank’s Continued Decline: HDFC Bank remained a major pressure point for the market as the stock fell by 3% and failed to attract enough buyers. The private bank’s decline continued for the second session, with a total plunge of nearly 12% in the last two sessions.

2. Mixed Asian Markets: Asian shares started on a tepid note due to a murky economic outlook in China and delayed expectations of a global rate easing cycle. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose by 0.1%, still near the two-month low of 490 points from Wednesday. China’s blue-chip stock index reached its lowest point since 2019, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index touched a 14-month low.
3. US Treasury Yields and Dollar Performance: US Treasury yields slightly increased while the dollar hovered near a one-month peak. Investors reduced their bets on a rate cut by the Federal Reserve, which was initially expected to start as early as March. The 10-year Treasury yield, which tracks long-term borrowing costs, climbed to 4.094%.

4. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) Sell: Foreign institutional investors sold Indian shares worth a net of Rs 10,578 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 4,006 crore.
5. Oil Prices Rise: Oil prices saw a slight increase due to OPEC’s forecast of relatively strong growth in global oil demand over the next two years. Additionally, a cold blast in the US disrupted some oil production. Brent crude futures rose by 24 cents to $78.12 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) rose by 35 cents to $72.83.
The Indian rupee also saw a decline of 2 paise against the US dollar, reaching $83.16 in early trade. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against major world currencies, declined by 0.17% to 103.27 level.
Experts have shared their insights on the market situation. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, stated that the market’s elevated valuations and HDFC Bank’s worse-than-expected results triggered the sell-off. He also mentioned that the sell-off in other emerging markets like Taiwan and Korea indicates an emerging market correction driven by FPI outflows.