Overview
- Intraday losses erased over ₹7 lakh crore in market value, with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices down more than 2%.
- The rupee hovered near 90 per dollar after a record low last week, worsening foreign investors’ returns and sentiment.
- Foreign institutional investors stayed net sellers for a seventh straight session, offloading over ₹1.6 lakh crore since July, including ₹10,404 crore in early December.
- Rising crude prices in the mid-$60s and higher Japanese bond yields, which risk a yen carry-trade unwind, further weighed on equities.
- Analysts pointed to strong medium-term fundamentals, citing 8.2% Q2 GDP and an RBI upgrade to FY26 growth, but cautioned that volatility is likely to persist in the near term.