Investors Lose Over Rs 6.5 Lakh Crore In Market Mayhem

A massive fall in oil prices amid existing fragility in the equity markets from uncertainty over the economic impact of coronavirus caused Sensex, Nifty 50 and Nifty Bank to post their biggest one-day fall ever, in absolute terms.

Investors wealth eroded over Rs 6.5 crore as BSE-listed firms' market cap declined to Rs 137.4 lakh crore on 9 March from Rs 144.3 lakh crore on 6 March, largely due to sell-off by foreign investors.

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) made significant losses from the nearly 30 percent fall in crude oil prices.

Shares of RIL closed 13.10 percent lower at Rs 1,104.50 and lost its title of the most valued Indian company to Tata Consultancy Services. After closing hours, the market cap of TCS stood at Rs 7.4 lakh crore while RIL's valuation declined to Rs 7.06 lakh crore.

ONGC's market cap fell below the Rs 1 lakh crore mark for the first time since August 2004 to Rs 93,227 crore after an over 16 percent fall in share value.

After OPEC's (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) failure to strike a deal with its allies on production cuts, Saudi Arabia, the de-facto leader of the organisation, slashed its selling prices causing investors to worry about the possibility of an all-out price war.

International oil benchmark Brent crude futures plummeted over 27 percent on Monday to $32.93 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell close to 30 percent to a low of $27.34 per barrel.

Meanwhile, Nifty Bank slipped 20 percent from its recent highs to enter into bear territory after all constituents of the index, except Yes Bank, turned red.