Market mayhem wipes off over Rs 11 lakh crore investor wealth

New Delhi: Investor wealth worth over Rs 11 lakh crore was wiped off on Thursday as stocks crashed amid a global equity selloff after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.

Amid intensifying rout in global financial markets, the 30-share BSE Sensex plummeted 2,919.26 points or 8.18 per cent to end at 32,778.14.

The carnage on Dalal Street eroded investor wealth worth Rs 11,27,160.65 crore, taking the total market capitalisation (m-cap) to Rs 1,25,86,398.07 crore on the BSE.

The m-cap of BSE-listed companies stood at Rs 1,37,13,558.72 crore at the end of trading on Wednesday.

Traders said incessant foreign fund outflows also weighed on the markets.

On a net basis, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 3,515.38 crore on Wednesday, data available with stock exchanges showed.

On the BSE, 2,243 scrips declined, while 224 advanced and 106 remained unchanged.

The equity selloff intensified after the World Health Organization (WHO), late Wednesday night, termed the new coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic, and expressed deep concern over the “alarming levels of inaction”.

US President Donald Trump suspended all travel from Europe, excluding the UK, to the US for the next 30 days to stop the spread of the virus, stoking fear of a global economic slowdown.

Brent crude oil futures plunged 5.76 per cent to USD 33.73 per barrel (intra-day), after the travel ban.