Investor wealth plummets Rs 2.72 lakh crore in two days of market fall

New Delhi: Investor wealth eroded by Rs 2.72 lakh crore in two days as soaring crude oil prices in the wake of rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East led to severe selling in the equity market.

The BSE Sensex on Tuesday plummeted 642.22 points or 1.73 per cent to close at 36,481.09. During the day, it dropped 704.22 points.

The BSE gauge had on Monday settled 262 points lower.

Led by the heavy selling in the market, the market capitalisation (m-cap) of BSE-listed companies eroded by Rs 2,72,593.54 crore to Rs 1,39,70,356.22 crore.

"The rampant sell-off across the horizon for second consecutive day resulted in complete erosion of previous week's gains. The sudden spike in oil prices on account of drone attacks on Saudi Arabia establishments has definitely disrupted sentiments as it tends to adversely impact current account and fiscal deficit, thereby deterring the path of recovery for an economy that is already immersed in a slowdown," Nischal Maheshwari, CEO – Institutional Equities, Centrum Broking said.

The attack on the world's largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia has led to a record surge in global crude prices.

After soaring as much as 20 per cent to USD 71.95 per barrel on Monday, brent crude futures corrected slightly to trade at USD 67.97 per barrel on Tuesday. "The selling pressure aggravated for Indian markets as depreciating rupee and geo-political tensions spooked investor sentiments. The sharp rise in crude oil prices has impacted domestic sentiments due to India's high dependence on imports," Ajit Mishra, Vice President, Research, Religare Broking said.

Tracking the movement in oil prices, the rupee further depreciated by 37 paise in intra-day to trade at 71.97 per US dollar.

From the 30-share pack, 27 stocks closed with losses led by Hero MotoCorp, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki India and SBI which tumbled up to 6.19 per cent.

At the BSE, 1,696 stocks declined, while 829 advanced and 147 remained unchanged.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE small-cap and mid-cap indices fell by up to 1.84 per cent.

All sectoral indices also ended with losses, where BSE auto, realty, metal, bankex, finance, oil and gas, energy, teck and IT indices fell up to 3.80 per cent.