Sensex plunges 1,769 pts to 3-week low, investors lose Rs 9.78 lakh cr in single day
Mumbai, Oct 3: Benchmark BSE Sensex tanked 1,769 points to slide to a three-week low on Thursday as a spiralling conflict in West Asia triggered selling in oil, banking and auto shares, wiping out Rs 9.78 lakh crore investor money in a single day.
Falling for the fourth day running, the BSE Sensex tumbled 1,769.19 points or 2.10 per cent to settle at 82,497.10, its lowest closing level since September 11. During the day, it plummeted 1,832.27 points or 2.17 per cent to 82,434.02. As many as 29 Sensex scrips closed in the red while only one stock ended in the green.
Market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies dropped by around Rs 9.78 lakh crore to Rs 4,65,07,685.08 crore (USD 5.54 trillion).
The NSE Nifty slumped 546.80 points or 2.12 per cent to 25,250.10 with 48 of its constituents ending lower.
Continuous foreign fund outflows and rising crude oil prices dented investors' sentiment, analysts said.
From the 30 Sensex firms, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Asian Paints, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, Maruti, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan, Adani Ports and HDFC Bank were the major laggards.
JSW Steel emerged as the only gainer.
"The domestic market took a sharp downturn following Iran’s launch of ballistic missiles at Israel, sparking fears of retaliation and escalation in the war,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said.
“New SEBI regulations for the F&O segment have raised concerns about reduced trading volumes in the broader market. Lastly, with attractive valuations in China, FIIs have redirected their funds, adding pressure on Indian stocks," Nair added.
The BSE midcap gauge tumbled 2.27 per cent and smallcap index dropped 1.84 per cent.
All indices ended lower. Realty tanked 4.49 per cent, while capital goods (3.18 per cent), auto (2.94 per cent), services (2.87 per cent), industrials (2.75 per cent) and oil & gas (2.52 per cent) were among the major losers.
A total of 2,881 stocks declined while 1,107 advanced and 88 remained unchanged on the BSE.
"Fears of FPIs and FIIs switching to China from Indian equities were prevalent, especially considering the sharp valuations of domestic markets compared to China," said Devarsh Vakil, Deputy Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.
In Asian markets, Hong Kong settled lower while Tokyo ended in the positive territory. Markets in mainland China will be closed for the rest of the week due to the holiday.
European markets were trading mostly lower. The US markets ended marginally higher on Wednesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,579.35 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.37 per cent to USD 74.91 a barrel.
Equity markets were closed on Wednesday for Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti.
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Insensitive of Pune hospital to deny admission to woman, says Fadnavis; forms inquiry panel
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered the formation of a committee to inquire into the death of a pregnant woman after she was allegedly refused admission by Pune's leading Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital over non-payment of a deposit of Rs 10 lakh.
The controversy escalated on Friday with local political activists staging a protest outside the hospital and the hospital claiming that the woman's relatives were making misleading allegations.
A day earlier, BJP MLC Amit Gorkhe claimed in a video message that Tanisha Bhise, the wife of his personal assistant, was refused admission by the hospital. She was taken to another hospital where she died after delivering twins, he said.
A statement from the Chief Minister's Office said on Friday that he had taken serious note of the incident. "He has ordered the formation of an inquiry committee under the chairmanship of the Joint Commissioner of Charity, Pune," it said.
It said that the deputy secretary or under-secretary of the Law and Justice department would be the member secretary of the committee.
Further, instructions have been issued to the principal secretary, the Law and Justice department and the charity commissioner to ensure that the Charity Patient Scheme prepared as per the directions of the High Court is effectively implemented by all charity hospitals, the CMO said.
"All charitable hospitals should seek approval from the 'Charity Hospital Help Desk' through the online system to make reserved beds available to patients from the poor and vulnerable groups," it said.
The government has approved 186 posts of charitable health workers in charitable hospitals, and they should be filled immediately, the CMO statement said.
Talking to reporters here, Fadnavis said it was "insensitive" on the part of the hospital to deny admission to a pregnant woman.
He conceded that there was a lot of anger among the people over the incident.
"Medical ethics are needed. The Chief Minister's medical cell also intervened, but the hospital did not budge," Fadnavis said.
An internal inquiry report of the Mangeshkar Hospital claimed that the allegations of denial of admission for non-payment of Rs 10 lakh were "misleading" and made "out of frustration" by her family.
The woman's pregnancy was in the high-risk category, and her two underweight fetuses of seven months, coupled with a history of an old ailment, required Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) treatment for at least two months, it said.
The treatment required Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh and the family was advised that in case of lack of funds, they could admit the patient to the government-run Sassoon General Hospital for a complicated surgery, it added.
BJP MLC Chitra Wagh, meanwhile, came under criticism for a social media post praising the party's women's wing members who targeted and vandalised a private clinic in Pune's Kothrud area belonging to Dr Shusrut Ghaisas, who works at the hospital.
Dr Nilima Ghaisas, his mother, said her son did not practice there.
Activist Vishwambhar Choudhari criticised Wagh's remarks and claimed that the BJP-led state government recently allotted land to the hospital for Rs 1 per year rent.
The deceased woman's husband was the personal assistant of a BJP Member of the Legislative Council, yet he could not do anything, Chaudhari said.
