Stock market crash today: BSE Sensex plunges over 1,300 points; Nifty50 below 23,900 – top reasons for bear attack

Stock market crash today: BSE Sensex and Nifty50, the Indian equity benchmark indices, plunged in trade on Monday. While BSE Sensex plunged over 1,300 points, Nifty50 went below the 23,900 mark. At 11:34 AM, BSE Sensex was trading at 78,420.13, down 1,304 points or 1.64%. Nifty50 was at 23,869.80, down 435 points or 1.79%.
Major indices fell due to weakness in banking, financial, and technology sectors. Investor sentiment remained cautious due to the upcoming U.S. presidential election and potential Federal Reserve rate decisions.
The total market value of BSE-listed companies decreased by Rs 8.44 lakh crore, reaching Rs 439.66 lakh crore, according to an ET report.
Major companies contributing to the Sensex decline included Reliance Industries, Infosys, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Sun Pharma, collectively causing a 420-point drop. Additional pressure came from L&T, Axis Bank, TCS, and Tata Motors.
Various sectors showed negative performance, with Nifty Bank, Auto, Financial Services, IT, Pharma, Metal, Realty, Consumer Durables, and Oil & Gas declining between 0.5% and 1.7%. The market volatility indicator, India VIX, increased by 5.2%, reaching 16.73.

Why BSE Sensex, Nifty50 have crashed today

1. The upcoming U.S. presidential election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump has created uncertainty. The election outcome could influence U.S. Federal Reserve policies and subsequently affect Indian interest rates.
“In the next couple of days markets globally will be focused on the US presidential elections and there can be near-term volatility in response to the election outcome. However, this is likely to be short-lived and economic fundamentals like US growth, inflation and the Fed action will influence the market trend,” said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
2. The Federal Reserve’s November 7 policy meeting adds to market uncertainty, with expectations of a possible rate cut affecting investor behavior.
3. Lower-than-expected Q2 corporate earnings have impacted market sentiment. “The Indian market is facing headwinds from decelerating earnings growth. Nifty EPS growth as indicated by Q2 results may dip below 10% in FY25 which will render the present valuations of about 24 times estimated FY25 earnings, difficult to sustain. FIIs may continue to sell in this difficult earnings growth environment, constraining any rally in the market,” said Vijayakumar.
4. Oil prices increased over $1 early Monday after OPEC+ postponed its December output increase. Brent futures rose $1.18 (1.61%) to $74.28 per barrel, while WTI crude increased $1.20 (1.73%) to $70.69. OPEC+ delayed its planned 180,000 bpd increase due to weak demand and rising non-OPEC+ supply.