MUMBAI: Indian benchmark equity indices experienced a severe sell-off on Thursday, September 24, as the BSE Sensex plummeted 1,247.71 points, or 1.67%, to close at 73,580.54. Simultaneously, the NSE Nifty 50 cracked 383.70 points, or 1.64%, settling at 23,063.10, marking three-month lows for both benchmark indices.
The sudden plunge erased nearly ₹4 lakh crore of investor wealth on the Bombay Stock Exchange in a single session, driven by mounting foreign capital outflows, surging global bond yields, and escalating oil prices.
U.S. Treasury yields surged significantly after strong economic activity data boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve could hike interest rates again in October. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield touched 5.10%, its highest level since 2007, shifting international institutional capital away from emerging-market equities and into fixed-income securities.
Brent crude surged back above $102 a barrel amid persistent geopolitical friction between the U.S. and Iran, fueling renewed global inflation concerns for energy-importing economies like India.
Interlinked with foreign institutional investor (FII) selling and higher energy import costs, the Indian Rupee weakened to trade near 95.87 against the U.S. Dollar.
The market downturn was broad-based, with every sectoral index closing in negative territory. Financial services and banking stocks led the losses, with the Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Financial Services indices dropping roughly 2% each.
Among blue-chip losers on the Sensex, Bajaj Finance plunged over 5%, while Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and HDFC Bank registered steep declines. The broader market also felt the pinch, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices each declining over 1%. Market volatility soared, as India VIX surged over 27% during intra-day trade, signalling heightened investor anxiety.
