Stock market crash: Amid heightened market volatility driven by escalating geopolitical tensions and rising crude oil prices, nearly one-fifth of the Nifty 50 stocks slipped to their 52-week lows, reflecting broad-based weakness across sectors.
Heavyweights such as HDFC Bank (-5%), Infosys (-4%), and Bajaj Finance (-6%) led the decline, alongside IT majors like Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro. Financials including Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bajaj Finserv also saw sharp cuts, while defensives such as ITC, Hindustan Unilever, and Cipla were not spared, highlighting the intensity of the sell-off across the market. In stark contrast, ONGC was the top gainer.
The domestic benchmark indices witnessed a sharp decline today, March 19 with the Nifty 50 falling around 3.5% and the BSE Sensex down nearly 3.3%. The sell-off was driven by a mix of global and domestic factors. Escalating tensions in West Asia have heightened uncertainty, leading to a broad-based risk-off sentiment.
Further, adding to the market sentiment was the US Federal Reserve’s hawkish position, indicating increasing inflation in light of heightened geopolitical tensions. Continuous selling by foreign institutional investors drove the rupee to a new record low, while worries about rising input expenses, possible fuel supply interruptions, and fears of an economic slowdown resulted in widespread selling.
Ruchit Jain, Head – Equity Technical Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, noted that the benchmark indices have seen a sharp correction in last few days due to global situations, wherein the index heavyweights have witnessed sharp sell off due to persistent FIIs selling.
“Until the external data such as geopolitical news, FII Flows, Crude, prices and USDINR which have been against the equity markets momentum change, the stocks are likely to continue the underperformance,” added Jain.
On the sectoral front, all indices closed in the red, indicating widespread selling across the market. Nifty Auto, Nifty Realty, and Nifty Consumer Durables experienced the most significant declines, lagging behind the benchmark. Compounding the anxiety, the India VIX, which measures market volatility, jumped by almost 22%, highlighting a notable increase in fear and uncertainty among investors.
The broader market indices witnessed a significant decline, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 closing notably lower, trailing behind the leading indices. The market breadth showed a strong bias towards decliners, as the advance-decline ratio distinctly favoured sellers. Out of the wider Nifty 500 universe, just 23 stocks managed to end the day in the green, underscoring the extent and pervasive nature of the sell-off.
