Mon Jan 06 10:30:00 UTC 2025: ## Indian Markets Suffer Biggest Daily Loss in Three Months Amidst Negative News
**Mumbai, India** – Indian benchmark indices, the Sensex and Nifty, plummeted to their lowest point in three months on Monday, experiencing a 1.59% (1,258.12 points) and 1.62% (388.70 points) decline respectively. This represents a significant loss of nearly ₹11 lakh crore in investor wealth, erasing gains made earlier in the year.
The sharp sell-off was attributed to a confluence of factors, including widespread concerns over the human metapneumovirus (HMPV) outbreak, disappointing Q3 results from several banks, and uncertainty surrounding new US economic policies. The spin-off of ITC’s hotel business further exacerbated the decline, contributing approximately 314 points to the Sensex’s fall. ITC shares dropped by 5.6% during the day.
Other key contributors to the Sensex’s decline included HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries. Tata Steel led the sectoral losers, falling by 4.41%. The broader markets also suffered, with midcap and smallcap indices falling 2.44% and 3.17% respectively. The India VIX volatility index surged 15.58%, indicating heightened investor anxiety.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) continued their selling spree, offloading equities worth ₹2,575.06 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) partially offset this with purchases of ₹5,749.65 crore.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs cited several headwinds contributing to the market downturn, including higher US 10-year yields, a stronger dollar, potential US tariffs on Asia-Pacific economies, and increased geopolitical risk. They consequently lowered their MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index target.
While several Asian markets experienced losses, including Japan and Indonesia, others like Taiwan and South Korea bucked the trend and registered gains. The negative market breadth underscored the widespread sell-off. All sectoral indices ended in the red, with utilities, power, and banking sectors among the hardest hit.
The information about Samsung’s Vision AI technology at CES 2025 is unrelated to the market decline and has been excluded from this news report.
First Piper 