Investors lose ₹16 lakh crore as Sensex, Nifty crash; Adani Group stocks among biggest losses

Investors lost over ₹16 lakh crore in market value this week as India’s main stock market indices, the Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex, closed lower due to heavy selling and the rupee slipping to a record low against the US dollar. On Friday, the rupee touched 92 per dollar before recovering slightly to finish at 91.90 against the American currency.

A man looks at a screen outside the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in Mumbai. (REUTERS)

Although the markets opened higher, sharp drops in major stocks, including shares of the Adani Group, increased the selling pressure. Traders told news agency PTI that a shift towards safe-haven assets and continued foreign fund outflows, along with a lack of strong local triggers, affected investor confidence.

On the BSE, 2,989 stocks closed lower, while 1,229 moved higher and 143 finished unchanged.

Meanwhile, the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 241.25 points, or 0.95 per cent, to close at 25,048.65. In the day’s session, it fell 264.6 points, or 1.04 per cent, to touch a low of 25,025.30.

For the week, the BSE Sensex declined by 2,032.65 points, or 2.43 per cent. The larger NSE Nifty also fell by 645.7 points, or 2.51 per cent.

On Friday, the total market value of BSE-listed companies dropped by ₹6,95,963.98 crore to ₹4,51,56,045.07 crore ($4.93 trillion).

Over the week, the market valuation of BSE-listed firms fell by ₹16,28,561.85 crore.

Realty and PSU bank shares slipped due to delays linked to project execution and profit booking, while Adani Group stocks faced pressure following reports of possible summons by the US regulator, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Ltd, told PTI.

The summons led to selling across Adani Group shares. The group’s main company, Adani Enterprises, became the biggest percentage loser on the Nifty 50, falling 10.65 per cent to ₹1,864.20, even as the benchmark index ended 0.95 per cent lower, as mentioned in an earlier HT report. Overall, Adani Group firms lost around $12.5 billion in market value during the session.

Meanwhile, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, Asian Paints, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan and UltraTech Cement were among the stocks that gained.

Notably, all sectoral indices closed in the red. Services fell the most at 4.20 per cent, followed by Utilities at 3.52 per cent, Realty at 3.35 per cent, Power at 2.81 per cent, PSU Bank at 2.37 per cent, Capital Goods at 2.09 per cent, Industrials at 1.69 per cent and Bankex at 1.44 per cent.

Gold and silver prices rose on Friday to reach fresh lifetime highs in futures trading, tracking strong gains in global markets as the US dollar weakened and expectations grew around interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

On Thursday, the 30-share BSE Sensex added 397.74 points to close at 82,307.37, while the broader NSE Nifty climbed 132.40 points to finish at 25,289.90.

With inputs from agencies