Stock Market Today: Bears hammer Dalal Street; Sensex slides nearly 2,000 pts to 76,924, Nifty slips below 23,900

Stock Market Today: Indian equity benchmarks opened sharply lower on Monday, with heavy selling seen across sectors. The BSE Sensex fell 1,994.66 points, or 2.53 per cent, to 76,924.24 at 9:16 AM. The index had opened lower at 77,056.75 against its previous close of 78,918.90.

The Nifty 50 also witnessed a weak start. The index dropped 557.70 points, or 2.28 per cent, to 23,892.75. It opened at 23,868.05 in early trade.

Markets slip into correction zone

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The Nifty 50 has now fallen over 10 per cent from its record high of 26,373, touched on 5 January, signalling entry into a technical correction zone. The sharp drop reflects the broad risk-off mood seen in equities in recent sessions.

Crude surge weighs on sentiment

The sell-off in domestic equities comes as Brent Crude Oil prices surged nearly 25 per cent to around USD 116 per barrel on Monday amid the ongoing conflict in Asia. The spike has raised fresh concerns about inflationary pressure and potential risks to global economic growth.

Market experts said the jump in crude prices could significantly impact the Indian economy, given the country’s heavy dependence on imported oil.

Heavy selling across sectors

Selling pressure was visible across most sectoral indices on the National Stock Exchange. PSU Bank, Media and Financial Services stocks saw the sharpest declines.

The Nifty Auto slipped 2.9 per cent, while the Nifty Media declined 2.36 per cent. The Nifty PSU Bank index dropped 4 per cent.

The Nifty IT fell 1.29 per cent and the Nifty FMCG declined 1.38 per cent. The Nifty Consumer Durables index also lost around 2 per cent.

Asian markets tumble

The fall in Indian equities comes alongside a sharp sell-off across Asian markets. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 7 per cent, while South Korea’s KOSPI tanked 7.43 per cent.

Singapore’s Straits Times Index declined 2.65 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped more than 2.46 per cent, and Taiwan’s Taiwan Weighted Index dropped 5.77 per cent in early trade.

Wall Street weak, volatility rises

US markets had already ended last week under pressure. The S&P 500 declined 1.33 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.53 per cent on Friday.

Back home, the India VIX jumped 21 per cent to around 24 shortly after the opening bell, indicating heightened fear among investors amid rising geopolitical tensions.

The Indian Rupee also hit a record low of 92.31 against the US dollar during the session.

Top losers

Among index constituents, InterGlobe Aviation, Shriram Finance, and Larsen & Toubro were among the top losers on the Nifty50 in early trade.

Meanwhile, Brent crude’s May futures contract was trading about 25 per cent higher at USD 115.77 per barrel around 9:20 AM on the Intercontinental Exchange.