Overview
- On Sept. 24, Indian markets posted a sharp sell-off with the BSE Sensex down roughly 1,247 points to about 73,580 and the NSE Nifty down about 383 points to roughly 23,063, wiping out an estimated ₹4.02 lakh crore of BSE-listed market value.
- The rout was driven by a reported IRDAI proposal to cap insurance distribution commissions, a spike in US 10-year Treasury yields to about 5.11% that drew foreign institutional investors into US debt, and Brent crude trading above $102 a barrel; these factors concentrated selling in insurance, fintech and financial stocks.
- Several individual names posted severe losses, with PB Fintech/PolicyBazaar and other insurance-distribution and fintech-linked firms plunging and banks and NBFCs also falling heavily, amplifying headline index declines and hitting retail investors’ portfolios.
- On Sept. 25, NSE CEO Ashish Kumar Chauhan told Bloomberg that the period of heavy derivatives enforcement has largely passed and the exchange is regaining share in equity options, noting weekly equity options still make up about 40% of NSE’s revenue.
- The combination of persistent high oil prices and elevated US yields could keep volatility high and affect inflation and India’s current-account balance, so watch for continued foreign flows, changes in options liquidity and pressure on valuations for distribution-dependent fintech and insurance companies.