Sensex, Nifty, SMIDs: Why the Indian stock market fell today? Key reasons

Stock market crash today: The BSE Sensex declined 923.62 points to hit an intra-day low of 74,387.44 on Monday, while the Nifty 50 declined 247.55 points to touch an intraday low of 22,548.35.

Share market crash today: The Indian stock market faced downward pressure again on Monday, amid mixed global cues.

The benchmark BSE Sensex, which opened at 74,893.45, declined 923.62 points, or 1.23 per cent, to an intra-day low of 74,387.44, on Monday. 

  Similarly, its 50-stock counterpart Nifty 50, which opened at 22,609.35, touched an intraday low of 22,548.35, down 247.55 points, or 1.09 per cent. 

  At close, the 30-stock BSE benchmark index was down 856.65 points, or 1.14 per cent lower, at 74,454.41, while the Nifty 50 ended with a loss of 1.06 per cent or 242.55 points, at 22,553.35. 

 

  Among the constituent stocks on the BSE Sensex, seven stocks, led by Mahindra & Mahindra, Nestle India, ITC, Kotak Mahindra, and HUL, were trading higher, while declines were led by Zomato, HCLTech, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, and TCS.

  On the Nifty 50, 14 stocks were trading higher, with gains led by Dr Reddy's, Eicher Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Nestle India, and BEL, while losses were capped by Wipro, HCLTech, Infosys, TCS, and Bharti Airtel.

  Further, across sectors, all the sectoral indices barring Nifty FMCG (up 0.32 per cent), Pharma (up 0.32 per cent), and Healthcare (up 0.06 per cent), were trading higher, while the Nifty IT index was the top laggard, trading 2.25 per cent lower. READ MORE

  The Nifty Metal was down over 1 per cent, while Nifty Bank and Financial Services were also down around 1 per cent.

  Here are the reasons markets are falling:

  According to analysts, the Indian markets opened with a negative bias and the weak cues from the US have not helped. Wall Street indices closed sharply lower on Friday, amid tariff concerns and fears of a slowdown in the US economy. 

  Continued FII Selling

   Foreign investors have pulled out over Rs 23,710 crore from the Indian equity markets so far in February, pushing total outflows past Rs 1 trillion in 2025 amid rising global trade tensions. They pulled out Rs 78,027 crore in January. With these, the total outflow by FPIs has reached Rs 1,01,737 crore in 2025 so far, data with the depositories showed. 

  Concerns around continued selling of Indian equities by foreign institutional investors is weighing on market sentiment. 

  Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, says: "The market is facing headwinds from relentless FII selling and global uncertainties relating to Trump tariffs".

  Wall Street; slowing US GDP growth; Tariff concerns 

On Friday, the lower close on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones falling 1.69 per cent, the S&P 500 dropping 1.71 per cent and the Nasdaq tanking 2.2 per cent, amid concerns of a slowing US economy, also weighed on the markets.  

  US consumer sentiment fell more than expected in February, hitting a 15-month low of 64.7. Further, inflation expectations surged as households expressed concern that Trump's proposed broad and steep tariffs could undermine their purchasing power.

  Further, S&P Global data on Friday showed US business activity dropped to a 17-month low in February. Data showed the S&P Global's flash US Composite PMI Output index fell to 50.4 in February, from a reading of 52.7 in January. 

  US President Donald Trump's treat to impose tariffs on sectors and countries have continued to rile global markets, including India.  

Geopolitical concerns  Another reason markets were down on Monday was due to concerns surrounding the resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.  Russia on Sunday hit Ukraine with its largest single drone attack since the start of the full-scale invasion, which was launched on 24 February 2022.  

External headwinds

 According to analysts, from an external perspective, the weakness in the rupee, a fall in the US dollar reserves, weak third quarter results, and a widening trade deficit also weighed on the markets.