NEW DELHI: Investors have become poorer by over Rs 8 lakh crore in five days of market fall, with equity indices weighed by widespread selling amid bearish global cues.
Falling for the fifth straight session, the Sensex finished 703.59 points or 1.23 per cent lower at 56,463.15 on Tuesday. In the past five trading sessions, the Sensex has tumbled 2,984.03 points or 5.01 per cent.
Tracking the weakness in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms tumbled by Rs 8,08,067.6 crore in five days to stand at Rs 2,66,02,728.45 crore.
Unabated foreign fund outflows, inflationary concerns and geopolitical worries have made investors nervous.
Commenting on Tuesday's market trend, Rahul Sharma, Research Head, Equity 99 said, "We witnessed mayhem in markets in last 30 minutes. Benchmark indices corrected almost 1.5 per cent today due to weak global clues. Things seems to be worsening between Russia and Ukraine in the current war."
Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said global markets too came under pressure as sentiments got cautious following the latest Ukraine war developments.
"Further the prospect of aggressive Fed tightening to rein in inflation also kept investors on edge. Market is assessing the impact of Ukraine war and spike in inflation on the ongoing quarterly results," he added.
HDFC and HDFC Bank were the biggest drags on the Sensex in Tuesday's trade, falling 5.50 per cent and 3.73 per cent, respectively. Infosys, ITC, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, HUL and Nestle India were among the other major laggards.
In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge declined 1.21 per cent and the midcap index lost 1.20 per cent. Foreign institutional investors continued their selling spree, offloading shares worth a net Rs 6,387.45 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.