Indian stock markets experienced a sharp decline today, with both Sensex and Nifty witnessing significant losses. The drop came after the US Federal Reserve indicated fewer rate cuts in 2025, which spooked investors globally.
In early trade on Thursday, the benchmark indices fell drastically. As of 10:30 AM, the Sensex plummeted 880 points to 79,301, while the Nifty dropped 269 points to 23,969. Both indices have now lost over 3% this week, marking their first weekly decline in five weeks.
Top Losers in Today’s Stock Market Crash
All 30 blue-chip stocks on both the BSE and NSE were in the red, with major losses seen across sectors. Among the biggest losers were:
- Asian Paints
- Bajaj Finance
- Bajaj Finserv
- Kotak Bank
- JSW Steel
- Infosys
- Mahindra and Mahindra
- Tech Mahindra
- HDFC Bank
- ICICI Bank
Impact of the Fed’s Conservative Rate Cut Forecast
The steep sell-off in Indian markets was triggered by the global market weakness following the US Federal Reserve’s signal of fewer rate cuts next year. While a 25-basis-point rate cut was widely expected, the Fed’s more cautious forecast of just two quarter-percentage-point reductions in 2025, amid persistent inflation and a strong US economy, disappointed investors.
Typically, rate cuts in the US benefit emerging markets like India by increasing foreign inflows. However, the Fed’s conservative stance resulted in a risk-off sentiment, leading to a sharp sell-off in US stocks, gold, silver, emerging market currencies, and bond yields.
Ajay Bagga, a banking and market expert, explained that the Fed’s projections triggered a global risk-off sentiment, impacting markets across the world. “Asian markets are seeing a similar sell-off today, and Indian markets are opening weak due to the negative global cues,” he said.
With market conditions uncertain, investors remain cautious, and the coming days will likely see continued volatility as global economic factors play out.
