Market plunge wipes out Rs 1.96 lakh crore from investor wealth

New Delhi: Investor wealth eroded by Rs 1.96 lakh crore Monday following slump in the equity market where the BSE benchmark index tanked more than 1 percent.

The 30-share BSE Sensex closed at a three-week low of 37,922.17, down 467.65 points or 1.22 percent.

Following slide in stocks, the market valuation of BSE- listed companies plunged Rs 1,96,130.84 crore to Rs 1,55,43,657 crore at close of trade Monday.

"Markets slid as fears of escalating US-China trade war dented the confidence," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

The Indian rupee has depreciated 13 percent so far in 2018 and touched a historic low of Rs 72.67 to a dollar Monday before a rebound.

"The persistent weakness in the Indian rupee is now starting to show its impact on all asset classes including the equities. The "sentiment risk" is now the major challenge for stock markets," said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, Sr VP and Head of Research (Wealth), Centrum Broking Ltd.

From the Sensex basket, 26 stocks ended with losses led by Sun Pharma, Mahindra & Mahindra, Vedanta and IndusInd Bank.

Among sectoral indices, the BSE auto fell the most by 1.75 percent, followed by metal 1.74 percent, energy 1.67 percent and FMCG 1.65 percent.

At BSE, 1,691 stocks declined, 1,041 advanced, while 195 remained unchanged.

Broader markets also faced selling pressure with the BSE mid-cap index falling 1.68 percent and small-cap declining 1.07 percent.