Sebi, exchanges beef up risk management systems post stock market rout

Capital markets regulator Sebi and the exchanges have beefed up their risk management and surveillance systems in the wake of a global stock market rout triggering a sharp plunge in Indian equities, officials said today.

They are also keeping a strict vigil for any possible manipulation as also against the rumour mongers, the officials said, as the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty crashed with close to Rs 10 lakh crore getting wiped off from the investors' wealth in just three days.

"The risk management systems are working fine and we are keeping a close watch," a senior official said, adding that the plunge mostly reflected the global headwinds as all major markets including in the US, Europe and Asia have fallen sharply.

Analysts said the Indian stock market is also showing some correction due to the new tax proposals but the trigger mostly has been the global factors.

There have been concerns about several stocks in India, mostly midcap and smallcap being overvalued and a correction was probably long overdue, the analysts said.

Extending its falling streak for the sixth straight session, the 30-share index fell by 1,274.35 points, or 3.66 per cent.

Domestic brokerage firm Angel Broking said in a report today that a fall in Indian markets is likely amid sell off in global indices.

Moreover, investor sentiment has remained sluggish 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 2017-18.

The heavy sell off comes after months of surges fuelled by corporate earnings, global outlook and optimism over the US economy.