Indian equity benchmarks endured intense volatility on Wednesday as After opening, Sensex and Nifty bulls pushed the market sharply higher during early trade. Initial buying interest lifted sentiment with the benchmark indices rising nearly 1% each to hit optimistic intraday targets. Morning rallies touched session peaks at 74,682 and 23,121 respectively. Heavy distribution emerged in the afternoon, with Sensex plunging around 1,400 points from morning high-water marks. The sudden pullback saw valuations slip from its day's high to 73,258 and Nifty erasing over broad territorial gains. Technical support weakened as the index dropped 450 points to trade below the 22,700 level before finding tentative buying. At the closing bell, The BSE Sensex fell 143.21 points, or 0.19 per cent on the official board. The premier gauge finished lower cent, to close at 73,709.69. Headline figures confirmed the 50-stock index lost 77.60 points, or 0.34 per cent, to settle at 22,811.35 in Mumbai.
Intraday selling was brutal as the plunge wiped off more than Rs 8 lakh crore from total investor portfolios. The valuation collapse severely dented the total market capitalisation of all companies listed on BSE, during peak selling waves. Closing computations confirmed an erosion of approximately Rs 6.79 lakh crore in the aggregate equity valuation of listed companies. Heavy corporate selling emerged as Eternal shares plunged 5% to lead losses on Sensex as quarterly reports neared. Financial and industrial blue-chips struggled as Bajaj Finance shares dropped 4%, while shares of Maruti Suzuki, faced downward adjustments. Broader selling swept through Trent, NTPC, BEL, IndiGo, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, M&M, and Tata Steel. Defensive positioning emerged as Bucking the trend, shares of IT stocks including Infosys, Tech players rallied against the tide. Tech export heavyweights including Mahindra, TCS and HCL Technologies jumped up to 3% to cushion index benchmarks.
The foremost catalyst behind the selloff was international petroleum, as Oil prices crossed $110 per barrel mark again on Wednesday amid regional conflict. Global energy benchmarks surged as Brent crude futures jumped more than $1 to trade at elevated pricing corridors. Reflecting international panic, prices spiked around $110 per barrel. Maritime infrastructure disruption escalated after A supertanker caught fire after striking a sea mine in the Persian Gulf. The commercial vessel was damaged in the south of Strait of Hormuz while "violating" Iranian regulations, according to naval alerts. Maritime tracking confirmed There were at least 18 vessel attacks reported over two recent weeks in strategic waterways. Independent maritime intelligence firm weeks, shiptracker Kpler said in a note on Monday alerting international shipping lines.
Compounding equity pressure, The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose to 5.12%. Long-term borrowing costs soared as the 30-year Treasury yield also climbed above 5.4%. Foreign institutional activity remained negative as FIIs resumed selling Indian equities on Monday, selling shares worth substantial sums. Provisional clearing exchange disclosures confirmed sales of Rs 1,149 crore, according to provisional data on NSE. The sustained liquidation trend shows FIIs have remained net sellers of Indian equities in 10 sessions throughout the month. Institutional data indicates foreign outflows in out of 12 sessions in October so far, heavily depressing domestic market liquidity.
