Investors lose Rs 4.4 lakh crore as markets bleed

Investor wealth eroded by Rs 4.46 lakh crore in a single day on Friday with the benchmark BSE Sensex tanking more than 1 per cent in line with global stocks rout.

The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 885.60 points or 1.08 per cent to close at 80,981.95 with 25 of its components declining and five ending with gains.

During the day, it nosedived 998.64 points or 1.21 per cent to hit an intra-day low of 80,868.91.

Of the total 4,033 stocks traded, 2,311 scrips declined, 1,616 advanced and 106 remain unchanged, reflecting overall weakness in the broader market.

The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies declined by Rs 446,003.7 crore to Rs 457,16,946.13 crore ($5.46 trillion) at close.

"The Indian market ended lower on Friday, following weak global markets amid concerns about whether the US Federal Reserve can orchestrate a soft landing for the world's largest economy.

"Global sentiment remains fragile on worries about US growth slowing too quickly and inflation remaining stubbornly high.

"The latest PMI data from the euro area also indicates a negative outlook for the region's manufacturers," Avdhut Bagkar, Technical and Derivatives Analyst at StoxBox, said.

Investors will be cautious next week with the RBI monetary policy and potential market sentiment impact due to a sharp decline in the Asian and US markets, Bagkar added.

In the broader market, the BSE SmallCap gauge fell 0.58 per cent and MidCap by 1.19 per cent.

Among the indices, realty tumbled by 3.56 per cent, metal by 3 per cent, auto by 2.97 per cent, IT by 2.05 per cent, commodities by 1.83 per cent, teck by 1.79 per cent and capital goods by 1.70 per cent were the laggards.

Healthcare was the only gainer.

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul ended lower on Friday.

European markets were quoting lower on Friday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude fell 2 per cent to $77.93 a barrel.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 3,310 crore in the capital markets on Friday.