Finance
Equity benchmark indices fell sharply in mid-noon trading, with the BSE benchmark Sensex plunging to a new calendar year low. The Sensex dropped 1,280 points in intraday trading, from a high of 72,573 to a low of 71,293. In the process, the index fell below its previous 2026 low of 71,545 set on April 2, 2026.
Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty 50 index fell to an intraday low of 22,217, down 1.7% or 394 points from its day high of 22,611. In April, the index fell to a calendar-year low of 22,183.
Analysts linked the market’s significant drop to fears of a rate hike at the October policy meeting, as well as a lack of liquidity.
At 2:15 PM on Thursday, the Sensex was down 1.3% or 900 points at 71,543. The Nifty fell 325 points to 22,296.
The Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices were down about 1.5% each. Sectorally, the Nifty Auto index fell 4%. The Nifty Metal, Defense, and Consumer Durables fell more than 2% each.
