Markets mayhem erases all gains made in 3.5 years, Rs 11 lakh crore lost

The Indian equity investors are facing the heat of the meltdown in the global equity markets as they have lost all the gains made in three and a half years.

On Thursday, the equity investors lost Rs 11 lakh crore of their wealth, as their holdings in the Indian companies plummeted.

The combined market capitalisation of all the companies on the BSE, at the end of the day's trade, stood at Rs 125.86 lakh crore. The last time the combined market capitalization was so low, was in June 2017 at Rs 125 lakh crore.

Since January this year, when equity investors’ wealth had peaked to Rs 160 lakh crore, equity investors have lost Rs 34.5 lakh crore (21.5% of their holding).

The equity selloff intensified after the World Health Organization (WHO), late Wednesday night, termed the the new coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic, and expressed deep concern over the "alarming levels of inaction".

Following the announcement, US President Donald Trump suspended all travel from Europe, excluding the UK, to the US for the next 30 days to stop the spread of the virus, stoking fear of a global economic slowdown.

Brent crude oil futures plunged over 5 per cent to USD 34 per barrel, after the travel ban.