Dalal Street witnessed brutal across-the-board liquidation on Thursday, September 24, as benchmark equity indices succumbed to intense selling pressure, driving the Nifty 50 firmly below the critical 23,100 threshold. By the closing bell, the BSE Sensex tumbled 1,247.71 points, or 1.67 percent, to finish at 73,580.54, while the NSE Nifty sank 383.70 points, or 1.64 percent, to settle at 23,063.10. Market breadth tilted heavily in favor of bears across the Bombay Stock Exchange, where out of 4,573 actively traded scrips, 2,878 declined, 1,476 advanced, and 219 remained unchanged. The aggressive selloff was led by steep losses in financial heavyweights, with Bajaj Finance, HDFC Life, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, and InterGlobe Aviation leading the index losers, while Cipla and NTPC emerged as rare defensive gainers amid the broader carnage.
Across-the-Board Carnage: Financials and Midcaps Suffer Steep Losses
Every single sectoral index ended in the red, highlighting widespread institutional offloading. The high-beta Nifty Private Bank index bore the brunt of the downturn with a 2.2 percent drop, followed closely by Nifty Metal shedding 1.9 percent, and Nifty Bank sliding 1.7 percent. Cyclical and capital-intensive sectors took simultaneous hits, with Nifty Infrastructure falling 1.5 percent, Nifty Auto declining 1.5 percent, Nifty Oil & Gas dipping 1.3 percent, Nifty PSU Bank slipping 1.3 percent, Nifty Energy sliding 1.2 percent, and Nifty FMCG contracting 1 percent. Broader markets offered no sanctuary from the rout as the Nifty Midcap index plummeted 2 percent and the Smallcap index retreated 1.5 percent, completely wiping out Wednesday’s modest relief rally where the Sensex had gained 299 points and the Nifty had climbed 117 points.
Six Triggers Behind the Plunge: US Yield Spikes, $102 Crude, and IRDAI Commission Curbs
The primary catalyst for the widespread panic was a sharp escalation in macro headwinds originating from both overseas and domestic regulatory fronts. First, robust US business activity data signaling a five-year peak fueled expectations of further Federal Reserve rate tightening, catapulting the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield to its highest point since 2007. Second, crude oil volatility intensified on renewed geopolitical friction between the US and Iran, keeping Brent crude elevated around $102.50 per barrel following a 4 percent spike in the preceding session. Third, the Indian Rupee depreciated by 11 paise to 95.84 against the US dollar under dual pressure from soaring oil import costs and capital outflows. Compounding global weakness, domestic financial stocks faced severe margin anxiety after India’s insurance regulator proposed stringent caps on intermediary commission structures, prompting massive institutional profit-taking at higher valuation multiples.