Sensex crashes 2,743 points at open, Nifty slips to 24,659; Rs 7.8 lakh crore wealth eroded

Indian equity benchmarks plunged in Monday's trade, dragged lower by weakness across sectors amid the ongoing conflict involving Iran, the US and Israel in the Middle East. At the open, the 30-share BSE Sensex pack tumbled as much as 2,743.46 points to hit a low of 78,543.73, while the NSE Nifty index dropped 519.4 points to 24,659.25.

At last check, the Sensex was down 1,087.65 points or 1.34 per cent at 80,199.54. The NSE benchmark fell 323.60 points or 1.29 per cent to 24,855.05. The steep selloff erased around Rs 7.8 lakh crore from the BSE's total market capitalisation (m-cap) during the opening trade.

Here's a look at the market rout in numbers:

Rs 7.8 lakh crore investor wealth eroded

Investor wealth, as reflected by the BSE m-cap, declined by Rs 7.8 lakh crore to Rs 455.70 lakh crore, compared with Rs 463.50 lakh crore in the previous session. Heavyweights such as Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Eternal and State Bank of India (SBI) were among the key contributors to the decline.

677 stocks hit 52-week lows on BSE

As many as 677 stocks hit their 52-week lows today. BSE500 stocks such as AAVAS Financiers Ltd, Abbott India Ltd, Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands Ltd, ACC, Afcons Infrastructure Ltd, Alkyl Amines Chemicals Ltd and Alok Industries Ltd hit their respective one-year low levels. That said, 48 stocks touched their one-year high levels today.

3,014 stocks in the red

Out of 3,765 stocks, 3,014 stocks were seen declining. Only 596 stocks were advancing, while 155 stocks remained unchanged.

FII-DII data

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold Rs 7,536.36 crore worth of shares on a net basis during the previous session, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought Rs 12,292.81 crore worth of equity, according to stock exchange data.

On the global front, Asian markets were last seen trading lower. South Korea's Kospi index was down 1 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng tanked 1.69 per cent and Japan's Nikkei index slipped 1.53 per cent. Shanghai Composite index was flat.