Mumbai: Indian stock markets witnessed a sharp fall as the Sensex plunged over 1,000 points and the Nifty slipped below the 25,400 mark. Selling pressure intensified across sectors, and the market appeared to fall almost every minute during the trading session.
IT And Telecom Stocks Drag Market Down
The biggest pressure on the Sensex came from IT and telecom stocks. Infosys and Bharti Airtel alone pulled the Sensex down by more than 250 points. Eternal fell nearly 4 percent, while HCL Tech, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and Infosys declined up to 3 percent.
Other major stocks such as Bajaj Finance, Bharat Electronics, Trent and ITC also slipped more than 1 percent. However, SBI, Power Grid Corporation and Tata Steel tried to limit the fall with marginal gains.
Five Major Reasons Behind The Fall
The first reason was fresh tariff concerns. The US announced a new 15 percent global tariff and warned of a possible 26 percent duty on India’s textile sector. This weakened investor confidence.
Second, doubts over a US Federal Reserve rate cut hurt sentiment. The Fed’s recent comments suggested a tough stance, pushing US bond yields close to 4.5 percent. This led to money moving out of emerging markets like India.
Third, crude oil prices surged. Brent crude crossed USD 88 per barrel, raising fears of higher inflation and pressuring oil marketing companies.
Fourth, profit booking added to the fall. After three days of gains, the Nifty failed to cross the 26,000 resistance level. Investors chose to book profits.
Fifth, rising geopolitical tensions, especially between the US and Iran and uncertainty over the US-China trade truce, created a “risk-off” mood globally.
Midcaps, Smallcaps And Sector Impact
The fall was not limited to large-cap stocks. The BSE MidCap 150 index fell 0.8 percent, while the SmallCap 250 index slipped nearly 1 percent. Banking stocks dropped around 3 percent, metal stocks nearly 4 percent, and auto shares about 2.5 percent.
Foreign investors sold shares worth around Rs 2,938 crore, while domestic investors tried to provide support. Technically, 25,380 is seen as an important support level for the Nifty.
