Sensex plunges 1,600 points, investors lose ₹8 lakh crore today

Benchmark equity indices opened lower on October 3, with Sensex dropping 1,600 points and Nifty50 falling below 25,300.

Benchmark equity indices opened lower today (October 3) as Sensex dropped 1,600 points and the Nifty50 slipped below the 25,300 mark at a time when other Asian markets also witnessed decline owing amid the escalating Middle East conflict. Investors across the globe are on tenterhooks as tensions in Middle East intensified after Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel earlier this week.

Stock market today: A bird flies past a screen displaying the Sensex results on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai. (Reuters)

Twelve of the 13 major sectoral indexes logged losses, with realty and auto indexes set to be top losers by percentage, dropping about 2.6% and 1.7%, respectively. Among individual stocks, consumer goods firm Dabur lost 5.5% after forecasting its first quarterly revenue decline since 2020.

Most brokerage stocks, such as Motilal Oswal Financial Services and 5Paisa Capital, fell about 1.5% each, while SMC Global lost about 2.3%, days after India's markets regulator SEBI tightened rules for equity derivatives trading.

“Investors are worried about the Middle East conflict right now as it will have a huge bearing on Indian markets since any rise in oil prices will have an adverse impact on the country, which is an importer of the commodity,” Raghvendra Nath, managing director at Ladderup Wealth Management, said.