News Brief
Nayan Dwivedi
Mar 13, 2024, 03:51 PM | Updated 04:04 PM IST
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The Indian stock market witnessed a significant downturn today (13 March), as the Sensex nosedived more than 900 points, below the crucial 73,000-level mark.
Simultaneously, the Nifty index experienced a sharp drop of more than 1 per cent, marking its steepest single-day decline in recent times.
The smallcap index bore the brunt of the crash, recording its most substantial fall since December 2022, with a 5 per cent plunge, while midcaps weren't far behind, witnessing a 3 per cent dip.
Adding to the market woes, both microcaps and SME stock indices also saw a steep decline of around 5 per cent each.
This led to a drastic reduction in the market capitalization of all BSE-listed stocks, which currently stands at Rs 374 lakh crore, after shedding Rs 12 lakh crore.
Experts are pointing out that one of the major factors contributing to this crash is the stress test conducted by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
Recently, Sebi Chairperson, Madhabi Puri Buch had raised concerns about the froth in the smallcap and midcap segments, warning of disconnected valuation parameters and "irrational exuberance."
“Some call it a bubble. It may not be appropriate to allow that bubble to keep growing because when it bursts, they impact investors adversely,” she said at an event.
Responding to Buch's cautionary remarks, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund had recently took proactive measures by temporarily suspending fresh subscriptions via lumpsum mode to smallcap and midcap funds.
Nayan Dwivedi is Staff Writer at Swarajya.