Omicron scare: Investors lose Rs 11.45 trn in two days of market sell-off

Investors have lost a hefty Rs 11.45 trillion in two days as the domestic equity market continued to face severe drubbing amid a global selloff.

The BSE benchmark Sensex plunged 1,189.73 points or 2.09 per cent to close at 55,822.01 on Monday. During the day, it tanked 1,879.06 points to 55,132.68. The benchmark had tumbled 889.40 points or 1.54 per cent to close at 57,011.74 on Friday.

The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies tumbled Rs 11.45 trillion in two days to stand at Rs 2,52,57,581.05 crore.

Investors’ wealth had on Friday shrunk by over Rs 4.65 lakh crore as markets suffered a heavy selloff following weak global cues amid rising Omicron cases and continued selling by foreign institutional investors.

“India has been undergoing a phase of consolidation in the last two months. Currently sell-off is due to rapid rise in FIIs selling triggered by hawkish world central banks’ policy, cautious view on Indian market due to high valuation compared to peers and drop in retail inflows,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Tata Steel was the biggest laggard among the 30-frontline companies pack on Monday, tumbling over 5 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, SBI, Bajaj Finance and HDFC Bank.

HUL and Dr Reddy’s were the only gainers.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap and smallcap indices declined up to 3.42 per cent.

“Major reasons for today’s fall include aggressive FII selling in the past few days, Omicron fear, and some year-end profit-booking in Indian indices,” said Mohit Nigam, Head – PMS, Hem Securities.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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