Benchmarks fall 2%; investors lose ₹9L cr

FEARS of an escalating global trade war and a sell-off in US equities once again weighed heavily on the Indian equity markets, with the benchmark indices — BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty —dropping about 2% each on Friday.

- ARSHAD KHAN @ New Delhi

FEARS of an escalating global trade war and a sell-off in US equities once again weighed heavily on the Indian equity markets, with the benchmark indices — BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty —dropping about 2% each on Friday. The local market, grappling with concerns over expensive valuations and a continued exodus of foreign institutional investors (FIIs), has now corrected 18% (benchmarks) from its record highs in late September 2024.

The Sensex plunged 1,410 points, or 1.9%, to close at 73,198, while the Nifty lost 420 points, or 1.9%, to settle at 22,125. February 2025 marks the fifth consecutive month of losses for the benchmarks, the longest losing streak in nearly three decades.