Sensex Crashes 873 Pts on Resurgence of COVID Cases, Rising Yields

 Mumbai: Indian equity benchmarks came under intense selling pressure on Tuesday amid reports of increasing COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asian countries like Singapore and Hong Kong, and weak global cues. The Nifty fell for the third consecutive session, shedding 261 points (1.05 per cent) to close at 24,683, while the BSE Sensex dropped 873 points (1.06 per cent) to 81,186.

Market sentiment remained negative with 42 of 50 Nifty constituents ending in the red due to intraday profit booking at higher levels. The NSE advance-decline ratio stood at 1:2, reflecting widespread investor caution across sectors. The Nifty Bank, Financial Services, Pharma, and FMCG slipped 1–1.5 per cent, while Nifty Auto fell 2.2 per cent. In the broader market, the Nifty Midcap100 lost 1.6 per cent, and the Nifty Smallcap100 declined 0.94 per cent.

Market cap of the BSE-listed firms slipped to Rs 438.20 lakh crore in the current session against the market cap of Rs 443.67 lakh crore on Monday. This resulted in a loss of Rs 5.47 lakh crore investor wealth in the current session. The indices have fallen for the third consecutive session on Tuesday.

The Indian Rupee snapped its two-day streak, falling 24 paise against the dollar to settle at 85.63. This depreciation stems from equity market declines and foreign fund outflows.

Devarsh Vakil - Head of Prime Research, HDFC Securities said, “Investors monitored ongoing India-U.S. trade discussions, adding further market pressure. Japanese bond sell-off has elevated borrowing costs, contributing to global market uncertainty and dampening risk appetite. Technically, Nifty closed below its 5-day exponential moving average for the first time since May 8, 2025, suggesting a shift to profit-booking. Support levels lie at 24,494 and 24,378, while resistance is expected in the 24,800-24,900 range.”

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) have turned cautious, selling shares worth Rs 526 crore on Monday while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) were also net sellers to the tune of Rs 238 crore. This marked the first instance in over a month where both FIIs and DIIs offloaded shares simultaneously. Year-to-date, FIIs have been net sellers of Rs 1.09 lakh crore worth of Indian equities, while DIIs have purchased a net Rs 2.30 lakh crore, indicating a narrowing cushion from domestic flows.

Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities said, “We are of the view that, as long as the market is trading below 24850/81700 the correction wave is likely to continue. On the down side market could retest the level of 24550-24500/80800-80500. On the higher side above 24850/81700 the sentiment could change. Above the same, chances of hitting 25000/82200 and 25100/82500 would turn bright.”