Sensex sinks 650 points, Nifty near 24,250; investors lose Rs 3 lakh crore

The Story in Brief

The Sensex crashed 650 points to 77,498 and the Nifty fell 200 points to 24,266 in intraday trade on Wednesday, August 12, before recovering slightly to close at 77,966 and 24,435 respectively. Investors lost Rs 3 lakh crore in a single session as BSE-listed firms' market capitalisation dropped to Rs 490 lakh crore. The sell-off was driven by surging Brent crude near $90 a barrel, stalled US-Iran talks over the Strait of Hormuz, and the shock resignation of Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, which pulled down TCS by 4 per cent and Tata Motors by 2.5 per cent.

India's July retail inflation rose to 4.45 per cent from 4.38 per cent in June, with food inflation accelerating to 5.52 per cent. IT stocks crashed over 2 per cent, while FMCG, consumer durables and healthcare fell over 1 per cent each. However, the Nifty Midcap 100 bucked the trend, gaining 0.28 per cent to touch a fresh all-time high. Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers for a third straight session, providing some support. Markets now await US and Indian inflation data for cues on central bank policy.