Stock slide wipes off investor wealth by Rs 1.38 lakh crore

New Delhi: Investor wealth on Tuesday got eroded by Rs 1.38 lakh crore amid heavy sell-off in the stock market, with the Sensex recording its worst single-day performance over a month.

The Sensex hurtled straight down to 31,388.39 -- a one- week low -- plunging over 362 points, registering its first loss after a four-day winning streak.

Following weakness in stocks, the total market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies slumped by Rs 1,38,726.77 crore to Rs 1,29,77,705 crore.

Escalation in tensions following firing of a missile by North Korea over Japan made investors jittery.

"Concerns of heavy floods in the financial capital and the heavy selling by FIIs in equities over the past one month ensured that risk appetite was down to a trickle, especially as Asian markets were in a sea of red following North Korea threats," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services Ltd.

The small-cap and mid-cap indices shed up to 1.02 percent.

The BSE infrastructure index fell the most by falling 1.86 percent, followed by power and consumer durables.

From the 30-share basket, 29 ended with losses led by NTPC, Sun Pharma and HDFC.

At the BSE, 1,784 stocks declined, while 789 advanced and 127 remained unchanged.