Stock market crash enters 6th day: Why are Sensex, Nifty down today?

Stock Market Crash: As per Nifty charts, a break below 22,970 could trigger another steep correction, exacerbating the selling momentum in India stock markets

Stock Markets Today, Why Market is Falling: India stock markets were under bear attack again on Wednesday, February 12, 2025. The Sensex index today plunged 905.21 points to hit a low of 75,388.39 level on the BSE. The Nifty50 index, on the other hand, gave up the 23,000-mark to hit a low of 22,798.35. The Nifty index today fell 273.45 points on the NSE.

 

Large-cap stocks like Zomato, IndusInd Bank, M&M, Adani Ports, Reliance Industries, Power Grid, ITC, Axis Bank, and Asian Paints were weighing on the markets. All these share prices were down in the range of 2 per cent to 3 per cent.

 

Ultratech Cement, NTPC, Bajaj Finance, Titan Company, SBI, Tata Motors, Nestle India, and HDFC Bank were some of the other notable Sensex losers today.

 

In the broader markets, the Nifty MidCap index was trading 2.5 per cent lower today, and the Nifty SmallCap index fell 3 per cent today.  "Several factors have contributed to the decline in market sentiment. Rising US bond yields, a strengthening US dollar, and a weakening rupee have made Indian stocks less attractive to foreign investors, leading to large outflows. Furthermore, disappointing earnings from Indian companies across sectors such as consumer staples, automobiles, and building materials have compounded investor concerns," said Akhil Puri, Partner, Financial Advisory, Forvis Mazars India.  The looming threat of a global trade war, as well as its plans to implement 'reciprocal tariffs' on other countries, has raised alarms. These measures could negatively impact emerging markets in Asia, including India, China, and Thailand, he added.

 

Why is stock market down today?

 

Technical breakdown

According to technical analysts, Nifty index’s fall on Tuesday, which was a fifth straight session of losses, led to the index decisively breaking the crucial support of 23,400.

 

“We can observe a larger degree bearish pattern like ‘Lower Tops and Bottoms’ on the daily Nifty chart and the index is now sliding down to form a new lower bottom below the swing low of January at 22,786 levels,” said Nagaraj Shetti, senior technical research analyst at HDFC Securities.

 

As per Nifty charts, a break below 22,970 could trigger another steep correction, exacerbating the selling momentum in India stock markets.

 

The Nifty ended at 23,072, down 310 points (1.32 per cent) on Tuesday.

 

Across the Board selling

Amid a severe correction in midcap stocks and smallcap stocks today, the market breadth was extremely negative. At the time of writing this report, around 3,139 stocks on the BSE were trading with losses as compared to 545 rising stocks.

 

Nearly 665 stocks hit their 52-week lows, and 418 were locked in their lower circuits.

 

Among smallcap stocks, Ircon International dropped nearly 9 per cent in intraday trade. The decline in Ircon International share price came after its Q3FY25 profit declined 64 per cent year-on-year to Rs 86.1 crore. On a sequential basis, the Q3 profit fell 58 per cent. READ MORE

 

That apart, Amber Enterprises, JBM Auto, Five Star Business Finance, Manappuram Finance, ITI, Olectra Greentech, KEC International, Sterling and Wilson Solar, Atul Auto, Tanla Platforms, Shyam Metalics and Energy, Titagarh Rail System, and Data Patterns were notable smallcap losers today.

Donald Trump’s tariff war

Responding sharply to US President Donald Trump’s tariff plans, Canada and the European Union (EU) have decided to “resist the tariffs strongly and firmly, if necessary”.

 

Trump is set to levy a 25-per cent import duty on all steel and aluminium products from March 12.

 

EU and Canada say they will retaliate with "firm and proportionate countermeasures" to safeguard their economic interests, and protect their workers, businesses, and consumers.

 

FII selling

Foreign investors incessant selling is continuing to hit India stock markets. Despite the ongoing correction, which has eroded over Rs 70 trillion in market capitalisation, FIIs have been selling Indian stocks almost everyday.

 

On Tuesday, FIIs sold India stocks worth Rs 4,486.4 crore, taking the month-to-date selling to Rs 17,129 crore.

 

They were net sellers to the tune of Rs 87,374.6 crore in January 2025, Rs 16,982.5 crore in December 2024, Rs 45,974.12 crore in November 2024, and Rs 1.14 trillion in October 2024