Stock Market Crash: Biggest single-day Nifty fall in 21 months wipes out ₹13 lakh crore market cap

A combination of multiple headwinds cooked up a perfect storm on Dalal Street on Thursday, March 19, wiping out over ₹13 lakh crore in investor wealth.

The Nifty 50 index fell nearly 800 points at the close of trade, marking its biggest single-day drop in nearly a year. The Sensex fell over 2,500 points, while the Nifty Bank also fell nearly 2,000 points on Thursday, nearly giving up all the gains it made from Monday's low of 53,288.

Thursday's fall was the biggest on the Nifty 50 index since June 2024.

Rising oil prices, along with a sell-off in HDFC Bank were the biggest contributors to the fall on the Nifty.

Brent crude is now nearing its recent war high of $120 a barrel as attacks on Energy Infrastructure continues in the West Asia region. Rising oil prices are negative for net oil importers like India. As a result of the rise in oil prices, shares of HPCL fell to a 52-week low, while those of BPCL and Indian Oil also saw steep losses.

The other major fallout for the market today were the issues plaguing HDFC Bank, after its part-time Chairman Atanu Chakraborty quit last night. Despite multiple assurances by the management, the street did not react well to the news, with the stock tanking over 5%, and wiping out nearly ₹70,000 crore in market capitalisation in the process.

IT stocks, which led the Nifty gains on Wednesday, also sold off sharply on Thursday, with shares of Infosys, TCS, and Wipro falling to 52-week lows.

10 stocks on the Nifty 50 are now trading at 52-week lows, led by Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv, HUL and Cipla.

The fall on Thursday has wiped out nearly ₹15 lakh crore in the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies.

49 stocks on the Nifty 50 ended with losses. 97 stocks each on the Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap index reported losses on Thursday.

Nifty Bank, Nifty Auto, Nifty Financial Services, Nifty FMCG, Nifty IT, Nifty Metal, Nifty Pharma, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Realty indices saw every single constituent end with losses.