Investors become poorer by ₹7.46 lakh crore in morning trade as markets crash

Investors’ wealth tumbled by ₹7.46 lakh crore in morning trade on Friday (February 28, 2025), in-tandem with a sharp decline in the domestic equity market, with the benchmark Sensex plunging more than 1,000 points following a bearish trend in global equities.

Fresh tariff threats that ignited global trade war fears and relentless foreign fund outflows dented investor sentiment. The 30-share BSE benchmark gauge tumbled 1,032.99 points or 1.38% to 73,579.44 during morning trade.

Following the sharp decline in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms eroded by ₹7,46,647.62 crore to ₹3,85,63,562.91 crore ($4.42 trillion) in morning trade. From the Sensex pack, Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, Maruti, HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra and Titan were the biggest laggards. Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Adani Ports were the gainers from the pack.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading with deep cuts. “The U.S. market fell, closing at a five-month low, while the U.S. Treasury yields rose following President Donald Trump’s new tariff threats,” Vikas Jain, Head of Research at Reliance Securities, said. The U.S. markets ended sharply lower on Thursday (February 27, 2025.)

According to V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, stock markets dislike uncertainty and uncertainty has been on the rise ever since Trump was elected the U.S. President.

“The spate of tariff announcements by Trump has been impacting markets and the latest announcement of additional 10% tariff on China is a confirmation of the market view that Trump will use the initial months of his Presidency to threaten countries with tariffs and then negotiate for a settlement favourable to the U.S. “How China responds to the latest round of tariffs remains to be seen,” Mr. Vijayakumar said.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹556.56 crore on Thursday (February 27, 2025), according to exchange data. Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.51% to $73.66 a barrel.