It seems that bears have taken full control of the Indian stock market, as the losses that started earlier this week were further intensified in Thursday’s session, January 08, with key averages losing over 1% of their value and remaining in negative territory for the fourth consecutive day, causing them to slip below key levels.
The sell-off gripped all sectors, leaving no chance for bulls to intervene, leading to a 1% crash in the Nifty 50, which fell below the 29,000 mark to 25,876. The S&P BSE Sensex closed at 84,137, a 1% drop compared to the previous close.
Meanwhile, the broader markets felt even more heat, with both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices plunging 2% each.
Today’s crash came amid mounting fears after US President Donald Trump warned of higher tariffs on Indian goods over Russian oil purchases.
A bipartisan US bill proposing tariffs of up to 500% on countries buying Russian oil has received Trump’s backing and awaits congressional approval, according to media reports. This appears to have dampened sentiment regarding a potential trade deal with the US, which could face further delays.
The US had initially imposed a 25% tariff on India, followed by an additional 25% due to Russian oil purchases, which Washington views as helping to fund Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Broad-based selling hits metals, capital goods and energy stocks
Metal stocks emerged as top laggards amid a sharp retreat in both precious and base metals, with NMDC Steel leading the losses, crashing 7% to ₹42.8 apiece.
This was followed by GMDC, Hindustan Zinc, Jindal Stainless, Jindal Steel, Hindustan Copper, NMDC, Lloyds Metals & Energy, and Hindalco Industries, all sinking between 4% and 7%.
Stocks in the capital goods space were also hit hard, with Bharat Heavy Electricals tumbling 10.5% to ₹271.8 apiece, while Hitachi Energy India and ABB India fell 5.8% and 5.3%, respectively.
Other stocks in the segment, including GE Vernova T&D India, Siemens, Elgi Equipments, and KEI Industries, also declined by up to 3%.
Railway stocks such as Ircon International, Rail Vikas Nigam, and RailTel Corporation came under selling pressure, falling up to 4.3%, while wind energy stocks including Inox Wind and Suzlon Energy dropped 4.1% and 3.7%, respectively.
Other top laggards from the Nifty 500 pack included Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Piramal Pharma, Ola Electric, Indian Bank, JBM Auto, KPR Mill, Radico Khaitan, City Union Bank, Indian Oil Corporation, and Bharat Petroleum Corporation, all closing with losses between 3.5% and 5%.
