Sensex blues: Investors lose Rs 11.3 lakh cr in 6 days

Investors have lost a whopping Rs 11,31,815.5 crore in six days of market declines, with concerns over economic recovery sapping risk appetite.

Falling for the sixth straight session, the BSE Sensex plunged 1,114.82 points or 2.96 per cent to close at 36,553.60 on Thursday, tracking a heavy selloff in global markets.

The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies stood at Rs 1,48,76,217.22 crore, down by Rs 11,31,815.5 crore in six sessions.

Since September 16, the 30-share BSE benchmark index has fallen by 2,749.25 points.

In Thursday's trade, barring Hindustan Unilever, all Sensex constituents ended in the red.

IndusInd Bank emerged as the biggest laggard, falling 7.10 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, M&M, Tech Mahindra, TCS and Tata Steel.

"The looming uncertainty over stimulus package in the US combined with issue of rising COVID cases worldwide have raised concerns over economic recovery," said Ajit Mishra, VP -- Research, Religare Broking Ltd. 

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap and midcap indices skidded up to 2.28 per cent.

At the BSE, a total of 2,025 companies declined, while 625 advanced and 162 remained unchanged.

All sectoral indices closed the day with losses, with BSE IT index dropping 4.45 per cent, followed by teck, auto, metal, realty, basic materials, bankex and finance.

"The uncertainty regarding economic recovery, unabated rise in virus infections, and today being derivatives expiry day, all contributed to the negativity," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director -- Choice Broking, said fears over fresh lockdown restrictions in Europe amid rising infections and uncertainty over US stimulus package dented investor sentiment.