Thin Volumes Spell Big Fall for Market as FIIs Keep Selling

On a day of low trading volumes, the Indian markets continued their downward spiral for the fifth straight session on Monday.

- Dipti Sharma

Benchmark indices slid more than 1% each to their respective eight-month lows, wiping out a staggering ₹4.35 trillion in investor wealth in a day.

Total turnover on NSE—at ₹71,947.32 crore—was its lowest in nearly four months. Experts say in such situations, it takes less effort to move the market, making price swings more exaggerated.

Average daily turnover (ADT) on the NSE fell to a 15-month low of ₹88,861.90 crore in the month through 24 February, while ADT of equity derivatives, based on premium turnover of options, plunged to a 22-month low of ₹1.92 trillion.

At the same time, foreign investors continued to pull out funds. On Monday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded a net ₹6,286.70 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) stepped in with net purchases of ₹5,185.66 crore.

Benchmark Nifty 50 ended the day at 22,553.35, down 1.06%, while the BSE Sensex settled 1.1% lower at 74,454.41. Meanwhile, the broader market also declined—Nifty Midcap 100 fell 0.9% and Nifty Smallcap 250 dropped 1.2%.

Meanwhile, over the past three months, the Nifty 50 has been the second-worst performer among emerging markets, slipping 5.6%. The only index to fare worse is Indonesia's Jakarta Composite, which has declined 6.2%, according to Bloomberg data.