Benchmark equity indices on Monday crashed to a seven-month low as a strong dollar and rising US yields sent the rupee to a fresh record low, surpassing the 86-mark for the first time. Additionally, a rise in oil prices due to new sanctions imposed by the US on Russia further weakened the sentiment.
Investors’ wealth was eroded by `12.61 lakh crore, reducing India’s market capitalisation to `417 lakh crore— the highest erosion since August 5. In dollar terms, the total market capitalisation on the BSE fell below $5 trillion (to $4.82 trillion) for the first time since June 4.
After opening 750 points lower, the Sensex remained in negative territory throughout the session and finally closed at 76,330.01, falling 1,048.90 points or 1.36%. The NSE’s Nifty also declined 345.55 points or 1.47% to 23,085.95.
The broader market was hit the hardest on Monday, as the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices both fell by over 4%. As many as 3,562 stocks declined, while 555 advanced and 131 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Also, 508 stocks hit their 52-week lows while 120 stocks reached the one-year high level. The overall market breadth was negative, with more than six losers for every gainer on the BSE.Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) continued their selling spree, net
selling equity shares worth `4,893 crore on Monday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) pumped in `8,066 crore, as per provisional exchange data. So far in 2025, FPIs have net sold `23,157 crore ($2.7 billion), while DIIs have bought `32,282 crore.
Barring four stocks, all stocks in the Sensex and Nifty basket ended in the red. Zomato, Power Grid, and Adani Ports were the top Sensex losers, each falling over 4%, while Axis Bank, TCS, HUL, and IndusInd Bank were the only gainers, rising up to 0.78%.
The rupee fell by 61 paise or 0.71% to 86.58, marking its biggest single-day loss in nearly two years. It was the worst performer among its Asian peers.
The US’ most aggressive sanctions on Russia’s oil industry to date are expected to impact major importers like China and India. As a result of these measures, benchmark Brent crude oil futures prices soared to a five-month high, surpassing the $81 mark on Monday. Other Asian markets such as Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled lower. Markets in Japan were closed for a holiday.European markets were quoting in the red. US markets ended in the negative territory on Friday.
“US sanctions on Russian oil exports pushed the rupee to a fresh low against the dollar, which in turn triggered a massive correction in domestic equity markets as overseas investors continued to desert the local share market,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities. Rising crude oil prices are expected to raise concerns about a spike in domestic inflation, which could further delay any hopes of a rate cut from the RBI in the near to medium term, Tapse added.
All sectoral indices on the BSE and NSE posted losses on Monday. Realty, with a 6.6% fall, was the worst-performing sector, followed by utilities, services, power, industrials, and consumer discretionary, each falling by over 4%.