Mumbai: Stock markets witnessed bloodbath today, as the Sensex recorded a fall of over 1700-points or 6.22 per cent in the pre-close trade till noon. This fall has made it the biggest crash in about seven years and the fourth biggest ever for the BSE benchmark index. 
The overall investors’ wealth, measured in terms of total valuation of all listed stocks, also plunged nearly by Rs. 7 lakh crore. The loss suffered by the 10 biggest companies in terms of market capitalisation was itself close to Rs. 2 lakh crore.
Eight out of the top-10 intra-day falls took place in the year 2008. Monday’s fall is biggest since January 21, 2008 when the Sensex crashed by 2,062.2 points.
The market was witnessing all-round heavy selling across realty, power, oil & gas, bankex, auto, metal, capital goods and IT sectors.
Amid free fall in stock markets, the rupee crashed to 66.49 against the dollar, plunging to 66 paise. The rupee has not seen such a low level in almost two years in opening trade.
As stocks and rupee hit new lows, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said the country is in a better position than many other economies. “I wish to reassure markets that all macro-economic factors are under control. The country has forex reserves of $380 billion to be used,” he said.
He said the turmoil in currency market has “been long-coming and China is only the last step in it.”
Global markets have crashed following weeks of reports regarding China’s low economic growth as its consumption story falters. This is in addition to other irritants such as Europe’s woes and a general slowdown in economies across the globe. The US rebound story too is yet incomplete.
“In such markets, the Indian economy still remains a bright spot. Of course, low commodity prices are good for India but a global slowdown is not.” said Jayant Manglik, President, Retail Distribution, Religare Securities Ltd
205 stocks hit 52-week low
Stocks that hit their 52-week low included Aban Offshore, ABG Shipyard, Adani Power, Gail, ICICI Bank, NTPC, ONGC, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, VST Industries, among others.
Similarly, other stocks that touched their one-year low were Financial Technologies, HCC, MOIL, Mysore Bank, NHPC, NDMC, Orbit Corporation, PFC, RCom, SAIL, Sobha Developers, Simplex Projects, UCO Bank, Vijaya Bank and Zuari Agro Chemicals, among others.
Meanwhile, Amtek Auto shares were amongst the biggest losers in today’s market slump. The stock continued to witness intense selling pressure and fell over 17 per cent.
Besides, Jet Airways tumbled 12.83 per cent, SKS Microfinance (11.42 per cent), Bank of India (11.71 per cent) and Rajesh Exports (10.76 per cent).
(Inputs from PTI)
