As Sensex plunges 1,150 points in two days, Rs 5-trn investor wealth eroded

Investors lost a whopping Rs 5 trillion in just two trading sessions, with the stock-market rout prolonging over Budget proposals to tax equities coupled with a global sell-off.

Post Union Budget on February 1, the 30-share Sensex has plummeted by 1,150 points in two sessions.

The BSE benchmark Sensex slumped 309.59 points, or 0.88 per cent, to end at 34,757.16 on Monday. The index had crashed 839.91 points, or 2.34 per cent, on Friday.

Led by a continuous sell-off, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies plummeted by Rs 5.04 trillion to Rs 147.9 trillion in two straight sessions.

Investor sentiments have been hit after the government announced in the Budget a proposal to levy 10 per cent long- term capital gains (LTCG) tax on equities and projected a fiscal deficit of 3.5 per cent of GDP for the current fiscal.

"Selling continued in the market as concern over bond yield and weak global market impacted the sentiment. Upcoming RBI monetary policy will be a key trigger for the market, the outcome of which is expected to be status quo, but any commentary over government's fiscal policy and concern over rising yield will add volatility...," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

Among sectoral indices, the BSE capital goods index declined the most, falling 2.65 per cent, followed by bankex 1.11 per cent.

In the broader market space, the small-cap index fell 0.37 per cent and mid-cap 0.09 per cent.

On the BSE, 1,753 stocks declined, while 1,027 advanced and 196 remained unchanged.