Investors poorer by over Rs 2.61 lakh crore

Investors became poorer by more than Rs 2.61 lakh crore as the five-day rally in the equity market came to a halt on Tuesday, with the benchmark indices tanking sharply.

In a highly volatile trade, the Sensex tumbled 709.17 points or 1.26 per cent to close at 55,776.85.

During the day, the benchmark index plunged 1,067.07 points or 1.88 per cent to 55,418.95.

In line with weak trend in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms tumbled by Rs 2,61,145.72 crore to Rs 2,51,66,630.06 crore on Tuesday.

Domestic indices erased its early gains amid weakness in global markets.

Also, the increase in retail inflation to 6.07% in February impacted sentiments.

Global markets witnessed weakness as slew of events like the fourth round of sanctions against Russia, concerns about fresh cases of coronavirus in China and an expected US Fed interest rate hike weighed on investor sentiments.

"Although fall in crude and metal prices capped the downside," said Siddhartha Khemka, head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Reliance Industries Limited and HCL Tech were the major drags.

Tata Steel was the biggest laggard and tumbled 4.89 per cent.

In contrast, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Asian Paints, Titan and Nestle India were among the gainers.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge dipped 0.68 per cent and the smallcap index declined 0.88 per cent.

Barring auto, all the BSE sectoral indices settled lower, with metal tanking the most by 4.34 per cent, followed by oil & gas, energy and IT.