Two days of stock market slump wipes out Rs 18.60 lakh crore from investors' wealth

New Delhi: Equity investors have become poorer by Rs 18.60 lakh crore in two days of sharp decline in the stock market, where the BSE benchmark Sensex has plunged over 4 per cent, as the West Asia conflict refuses to die down leading to a steep surge in crude oil prices.

Weak global trends and unabated foreign fund outflows have also rattled investors' confidence.

In the last two trading sessions, the BSE benchmark Sensex has lost 3,325.9 points, or 4.41 per cent.

On Monday, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex tumbled 1,635.67 points, or 2.22 per cent, to settle at 71,947.55.

As investors fled from risky assets, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies tumbled Rs 18,60,662.29 crore to Rs 4,12,41,172.45 crore (USD 4.36 trillion) in two days.

This month alone, the BSE benchmark has crashed 9,339.64 points, or 11.48 per cent, ever since the West Asia conflict started on February 28.

"Another day of Carnage witnessed on D-Street. Uncertainty looms over sentiments. Escalating tensions in West Asia continued to weigh heavily on markets, as the ongoing US–Israel conflict with Iran entered its fifth week and expanded across the region," Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 2.18 per cent to USD 115.1 per barrel.

Notably, March 2026 witnessed massive cumulative FII selling, with outflows exceeding Rs 1 lakh crore, underscoring sustained global risk aversion and pressure on domestic equities, Khemka added.

From the 30-Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, InterGlobe Aviation, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the biggest laggards.

On the other hand, Power Grid was the only gainer.

A total of 3,563 stocks declined, while 876 advanced and 154 remained unchanged on the BSE.

"Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) executed an unprecedented sell-off in Indian equities during March 2026, marking one of the largest monthly capital outflows in recent history. The primary catalyst for this large-scale withdrawal has been escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia, which have heightened global uncertainty and risk aversion," Pabitro Mukherjee, Associate Vice President, Technical Research, Bajaj Broking, said.

The four-week period after the onset of the conflict has witnessed the most intense wave of risk aversion since the global market turmoil triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Mukherjee said.

"During this phase, FIIs have been the dominant force behind market weakness, driving sustained selling pressure," he added.

Sectorally, all indices ended in the red, with auto, FMCG, consumer durables, capital goods, realty, private banks, and PSU banks falling in the range of 2-4 per cent.

The BSE PSU Bank tanked 4.60 per cent, MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt (3.96 per cent), Bankex (3.80 per cent), Financial Services (3.46 per cent), Private Banks (3.43 per cent), BSE Top 10 Banks (3.40 per cent), Telecommunication (3.09 per cent), and Realty (3.03 per cent).