Amid sell-off, Rs 4.95 lakh crore investor wealth vanishes

The BSE Sensex cracked below the 34,000-mark by plunging about 1,275 points or 3.6 per cent in opening trade today due to across-the-board losses after investor sentiment was hit by a sell-off in worl

New Delhi, Feb 6: Amid sell-off in the broader market on Tuesday investors lost around Rs 4.95 lakh crore where the benchmark BSE Sensex tumbled 1,275 points or 3.6 per cent in opening trade.

The BSE Sensex cracked below the 34,000-mark by plunging about 1,275 points or 3.6 per cent in opening trade today due to across-the-board losses after investor sentiment was hit by a sell-off in world markets.

Following the downfall, the total market capitalisation of BSE listed companies eroded by Rs 4,94,766 crore to Rs 1,43,00,981 crore.

Extending its falling streak for the sixth straight session, the 30-share index fell by 1,274.35 points, or 3.66 per cent, to 33,482.81 with all sectoral indices led by realty, consumer durables, metal and banking tradings in the negative zone.

On BSE, 2,221 stocks declined, while 169 advanced and 83 remained unchanged. Domestic brokerage firm Angel Broking in a report today said that a fall in Indian markets is likely amid sell-off in global indices.

"US stocks suffered one of their worst days in recent history in the last trading session, as markets continued to throw a tantrum over rising interest rates. The Dow Jones ended on the downside of 4.6 per cent to close at 24,346 and the Nasdaq Composite edged down to 3.8 per cent, to 6,968," it said.

Moreover, UK shares tumbled as a strong US jobs report reinforced the Fed's outlook for three interest-rate hikes this year and investors looked ahead to a new round of talks between the UK and European Union. The FTSE 100 was down by 1.5 per cent to close at 7,335, it added.

PTI