Stock market crash today: Sensex tanks 956 pts, Nifty slips below 25,550

Sensex crashes over 950 pts and Nifty falls below 25,550 as Brent crude tops $71, India VIX jumps 8 per cent, and bank stocks drag markets. Here's why the stock market is falling today

Stock market crash today (February 19): Indian stock markets witnessed sharp selling pressure on Thursday, snapping a three-day winning streak, as rising crude oil prices, escalating US-Iran tensions, and profit booking in banking and FMCG heavyweights triggered a broad-based decline. 

The BSE Sensex today tumbled 956 points to hit an intraday low of 82,778, crashing as much as 1,201 points from the day’s high. 

Similarly, the Nifty 50 today fell 274 points to touch 25,545 after hitting a morning high of 25,885. 

In the broader market, Nifty MidCap declined 0.96 per cent while Nifty SmallCap slipped 0.69 per cent around 2:15 PM, indicating cautious sentiment across segments. 

 

India VIX -- the volatility gauge of the NSE -- was higher by 7.8 per cent today.

Top gainers and losers today

Among Nifty 50 losers today, Trent, M&M, Adani Enterprises, Kwality Wall’s, IndiGo, UltraTech Cement, Bharat Electronics, JSW Steel, Power Grid, and Adani Ports fell up to 4 per cent. 

On the other hand, ONGC, Infosys, Hindalco, TCS, HDFC Life, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, and Wipro were among the top gainers, offering limited support to the benchmark indices.

Stock market crash, Feb 19: Why is the  stock market falling today?

Brent crude prices rises to multi-month high

Oil prices were trading near multi-month highs on Thursday amid escalation in tensions between the United States and Iran. India, being an oil importer, will be negatively impacted if oil prices were to go up further. 

Brent crude futures were quoting above the $71 per barrel-mark, up 1 per cent. WTI futures, meanwhile, added 1.15 per cent to trade around $65.9 per barrel-mark around noon. 

Notably, both the benchmarks had settled more than 4 per cent higher on Wednesday, posting their highest settlements since January 30.

US-Iran tensions escalate

 

Commodity market watchers are closely tracking developments in the Middle East after Iran said it plans to launch rockets in areas across its south on Thursday from 0330 GMT to 1330 GMT (9:00 AM to 7:00 PM IST. 

At the same time, the US said it has deployed warships near Iran, with US Vice President JD Vance saying Washington was weighing whether to continue diplomatic engagement with Tehran or pursue "another option".  The United State' new threats against Tehran come after Iran and Russia announced joint naval drills in the Sea of Oman.  

Separately, Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz for a few hours on Tuesday. It remains unclear whether the waterway, which sees transportation of about 20 per cent of the world’s oil, has fully reopened or not.

Heavyweight stocks drag Sensex down

Markets are seeing profit booking after three consecutive sessions of gains where the BSE Sensex index jumped 1,107 points and the Nifty50 added 348 points. 

Selling in index heavyweights significantly contributed to the decline. Shares of Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and State Bank of India weighed heavily on the indices. 

These stocks, along with M&M, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Axis Bank, L&T and Kotak Bank, accounted for nearly 53 per cent of the Sensex’s decline.

Technical levels to watch

According to Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities, 25,950-26,000 levels on the Nifty50 and 84,700-85,000 on the Sensex appear to be the immediate resistance zones for the traders. 

On the flip side, a move below 25,600 and 83,300 could change the sentiment, where traders may prefer to exit out from the trading long position.