NEW DELHI: Investor wealth on Monday tumbled Rs 1.98 lakh crore as markets witnessed heavy selling pressure following losses in Reliance Industries.
The 30-share BSE index plunged 540 points or 1.33 per cent to close at 40,145.50. During the day, it tanked 737.21 points to 39,948.29.
Following the weak sentiment, the market capitalisation of the BSE-listed companies declined by Rs 1,98,314.27 crore to Rs 1,58,60,685.73 crore.
RIL, the most-valued domestic company by market capitalisation, declined 3.97 per cent, after Amazon.com Inc won an interim arbitration award against its partner Future Group for selling its retail business to Reliance Industries Ltd for Rs 24,713 crore.
On Sunday, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre restrained Future Retail and its founders from going ahead with the sale until a final decision is given.
Choice Broking executive director Sumeet Bagadia said, "Indian equity benchmarks witnessed sharp sell-off and ended lower as rising coronavirus cases in developed countries and uncertainty over the US economic package weighed on sentiments. Sharp sell-off in the index heavyweight Reliance also dragged the market lower."
Bajaj Auto was the biggest laggard in the sensex pack, tumbling 6.10 per cent, followed by Mahindra and Mahindra, RIL, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra and SBI.
Eight companies from the 30-share pack closed in the green, with Nestle India, Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank, PowerGrid and HUL among the biggest gainers.
BSE energy, metal, auto, basic materials, realty, oil and gas, bankex and finance indices lost up to 3.51 per cent.
Fast-moving consumer goods was the only gainer, rising 0.11 per cent.
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices also dropped as much as 1.77 per cent.