The domestic market had opened on a positive note on Tuesday, but selling pressure gradually intensified as the session progressed. The Nifty opened at 23,454.05 and climbed to an intraday high of 23,489 before falling to 23,285.75 during the session.
The sudden shift in market sentiment left investors surprised despite positive global cues. Even as crude oil prices declined, the Indian stock market witnessed selling pressure on September 22. On the second trading day of the week, selling in IT, banking and consumer goods stocks pushed the market into negative territory.
The sell-off was broad-based, with the Sensex falling nearly 600 points from its day's high and the Nifty slipping below the 23,300 level on the weekly expiry day. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 also ended lower, while most key sectoral indices closed in the red.
The decline also affected the overall market valuation. The market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE fell by more than Rs 2 lakh crore during Tuesday's session, meaning investors lost more than Rs 2 lakh crore in market value.
Despite the broader decline, some stocks witnessed buying interest. Coal India gained around 3.2%, while IndiGo rose 1.8%, Eternal advanced 1.8% and Titan shares strengthened by around 1%.
Among the top losers, financial and consumer stocks exerted the strongest pressure on the market. Bajaj Finserv declined 1.4%, Tata Consumer fell 1.6%, Trent dropped 1.2%, while Bajaj Finance shares also declined 1.2%.
The market came under pressure amid broad-based selling across the IT, banking, financial services and capital goods sectors. Brent crude prices also fell to around $100 per barrel after declining for four consecutive sessions. Despite the fall in crude prices, the market failed to recover.
Foreign investor outflows and geopolitical uncertainty continued to weigh on market sentiment. Concerns related to inflation and import costs also remained in focus, adding to the pressure on Indian equities.
The Tuesday session therefore ended with the benchmark indices lower despite a positive start, while broad-based selling pushed the overall market capitalisation down by more than Rs 2 lakh crore.
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