Mon Jan 06 10:56:16 UTC 2025: ## Indian Stock Markets Plunge on Earnings Concerns and Virus Fears

**Mumbai, January 6, 2025** – Indian equity markets experienced a significant downturn today, with the Sensex and Nifty indices crashing by 1.6% amidst widespread selling. Concerns over third-quarter earnings growth, continued foreign capital outflow, and a new HMP virus scare fueled the sell-off. The Sensex closed at 77,964.99, down 1,258.12 points, while the Nifty slumped 388.70 points to 23,616.05.

Several blue-chip stocks, including Tata Steel, NTPC, and Reliance Industries, experienced substantial losses. Only Titan and Sun Pharma showed gains. The decline pushed both Nifty and Bank Nifty below their 200-day moving averages.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) further exacerbated the situation by offloading equities worth ₹4,227.25 crore on Friday. The weakening rupee and negative trends in Asian markets (excluding Seoul) also contributed to the pessimistic sentiment. Santosh Meena, Head of Research at Swastika Investmart, attributed the sell-off to FII selling, Q3 earnings anxieties, and HMPV virus fears.

Global oil prices saw a slight decrease, with Brent crude dipping 0.25% to $76.32 a barrel. US markets, however, closed positively on Friday. The sharp decline follows a smaller drop on Friday, when the Sensex fell 0.90% and the Nifty 0.76%.

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