Stock market crash today: Nifty50 and BSE Sensex plunged in opening trade on Monday. Nifty50 opened the trading day below 22,500 and BSE Sensex dropped over 1,100 points. At 9:16 AM, Nifty50 was trading at 22,488.20, down 331 points or 1.45%. BSE Sensex was at 72,477.66, down 1,106 points or 1.50%.Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited says, “With the conflict in West Asia entering the fifth week, there are signs of escalation of the war with the Houthi’s joining the conflict and the US sending additional troops to reinforce the attack. Brent crude has again shot up to $116. The Goldilocks macro scenario which India had before the war has almost disappeared thanks to the war. Instead of high GDP growth, low inflation, moderate fiscal and current account deficits and expectations of higher corporate earnings growth in FY27, now we face prospects of lower GDP growth, higher inflation, higher fiscal and current account deficits and lower earnings growth for FY27.”The market has largely discounted these negatives as reflected in the decline in the Nifty trailing PE ratio to about 19.9 times. This is fair but not yet cheap valuations. But there are segments which are attractively valued like financials. A significant development today is likely to be strengthening of the rupee in response to the RBI directive capping the net open position (NOP- INR) in the offshore deliverable market at $100 million. Unwinding of large dollar positions will strengthen the rupee in the near-term.”US markets witnessed a sharp selloff last week. All three major indices closed at their lowest levels in more than seven months on Friday, and the Dow officially entered correction territory as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East dampened investor sentiment.Asian equities came under pressure while crude oil prices moved higher amid escalating tensions, with Iran-backed Houthi forces joining the conflict and an expanded US military presence raising fears of a prolonged standoff.Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers, offloading shares worth Rs 4,367.30 crore on Friday. In contrast, domestic institutional investors provided some support by purchasing equities worth Rs 3,566.15 crore.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)
