Equity Investors Poorer by Rs 7.15 Lakh Crore in Morning Trade as Markets Slump

Investors' wealth eroded by a whopping Rs 7.15 lakh crore during the morning trade on Friday as equity markets tumbled, driven by sharp fall in IndusInd Bank shares and unabated foreign fund outflows.

The BSE Sensex tanked 708.69 points to 79,356.47 and the NSE Nifty plunged 286.35 points to 24,113.05.

Tracking the weak trend in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms tumbled Rs 7,15,739.19 crore to Rs 4,36,63,565.73 crore (USD 5.19 trillion) during the morning trade.

From the 30 Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank plunged over 19 per cent after the firm reported a 40 per cent decline in September quarter net profit at Rs 1,331 crore, pulled down majorly by concerns about asset quality.

Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC, Larsen & Toubro, Adani Ports, Titan, Tata Steel and JSW Steel were also among the laggards.

From the blue-chip pack, ITC jumped over 3 per cent after the diversified entity reported an 1.8 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 5,054.43 crore in the second quarter ended September 2024. ITC's revenue from operations jumped 15.62 per cent to Rs 22,281.89 crore during the July-September period.

Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, Nestle and Hindustan Unilever were the other big gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,062.45 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought Rs 3,620.47 crore shares.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong traded higher while Tokyo quoted lower.

The US markets ended mostly higher on Thursday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 031 per cent to USD 74.61 a barrel.

In an uninspiring trade, the BSE benchmark dipped 16.82 points or 0.02 per cent to settle at 80,065.16 on Thursday. The Nifty skidded 36.10 points or 0.15 per cent to 24,399.40 in a volatile trade.