Investors' wealth plummets over Rs 6.80 lakh cr in 3 days

Investors' wealth has eroded by over Rs 680,441 crore in three days of market fall amid weak global trends and muted domestic sentiments.

Extending its losses for the third straight day, BSE benchmark Sensex on Thursday finished below the 60,000-level, weighed by hectic selling in IT, energy and finance stocks amid a sell-off in European equities.

The index has lost 1,844.29 points in three sessions.

Led by the weak sentiment, the market capitalisation of the BSE-listed companies plunged by Rs 680,441 crore in three days to stand at Rs 273,21,996.71 crore.

The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms had reached a lifetime high of Rs 2,80,02,437.71 crore on Monday.

Sector-wise, BSE IT, teck, energy, healthcare and FMCG shed as much as 1.69 per cent on Thursday, while power, utilities, metal and realty posted gains.

In the broader markets, the BSE midcap index dipped 0.07 per cent, while the smallcap gauge inched up 0.05 per cent.

"Indian markets witnessed profit booking for the third consecutive day amidst concern over higher US Treasury yields and the Federal Reserve tightening monetary policy," said Siddhartha Khemka, head - retail research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

Barring metals and realty, all of the other sectoral indices on NSE ended in red.

FMCG, IT and pharma lost in the range of 1-2 per cent, Khemka said.

Major events like the upcoming Budget and various state elections could lead to higher volatility in coming days.

Hence, we advise traders to remain cautious and keep positions light.

Investors can use dip in the market as an opportunity to accumulate quality stocks for a long-term portfolio, he added.

Photograph: Arko Datta/Reuters