The Stock Market closed the week with a bloodbath on Friday, with benchmark indices closing 2 per cent lower amid broad-based selling across sectors.
At the close, the Sensex was down 1,690.23 points, or 2.25 per cent, at 73,583.22, while the Nifty fell 486.85 points, or 2.09 per cent, at 22,819.60. The Nifty Midcap index dropped 2.2%, and the Smallcap index declined 1.7%.
The cumulative market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms dropped to Rs 422 lakh crore from Rs 431 lakh crore in the previous session. Investors collectively lost nearly Rs 9 lakh crore.
The market was down due to the broad-based selling across sectors, continued depreciation of the rupee, and lingering uncertainty over the de-escalation of the US-Iran conflict.
The Indian rupee extended its losses for a second straight session, breaching the 94-per-dollar mark for the first time.
Among sectors, almost all indices closed in the red, with sharp losses in PSU banks and realty, both declining over 3% each. Further, auto, consumer durables, capital goods, and private banks fell 2% each.
On Nifty, the gainers were ONGC, TCS, Wipro, Bharti Airtel, and Coal India. The losers were Shriram Finance, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, InterGlobe Aviation, Reliance Industries, and Bajaj Finance.
Over 900 stocks touched their 52-week lows on the BSE. These included Sterling Wilson, Network 18, Aegis Vopak, Sapphire Foods, TMPV, IDBI Bank, Lodha Developer, Concord Biotech, GSFC, Amara Raja, Bajaj Housing, Sonata, Zensar Tech, Gillette India, Hindustan Aeron, Gujarat Gas, and IGL, among others.
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms fell to Rs 422 lakh crore as of March 27, down from Rs 463 lakh crore on February 27, since the Iran war began.
IT stocks also traded at a steep discount to their long-term average, offering valuation comfort at current levels with limited downside risk, according to ICICI Direct.