What Caused The Stock Market Bloodbath Today? Sensex Crashes Over 1,100 Points, Nifty Tests 23K

The Indian stock markets continued to bleed on Tuesday, with the equity benchmark indices crashing more than 1 per cent in the session by afternoon. As of 2:14 PM, the BSE Sensex nosedived over 1,050 points and traded under 76,250 at 76,242.04, while the NSE Nifty50 witnessed a plunge of over 300 points and 1.41 per cent to stand just over 23,050 in the session.

On the Sensex, all the stocks stood in red, painting a bleak picture for the investors. Zomato clocked the largest fall in the session so far and plunged over 5 per cent. 

In the broader markets, the Nifty Microcap 250 led the losses and tanked over 4 per cent, followed by multiple indices clocking decline of more than 3 per cent. Sectorally, the Midsmall Financial Services dominated in red and crashed over 4 per cent, while the Realty and Midsmall Healthcare indices reported a fall of 3.86 per cent and 3.55 per cent respectively.

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Why Are Markets In A Freefall?

The bloodbath in the markets could be attributed to the concerns triggered by US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats. Further, foreign investors continued to dump Indian equities displaying their wary outlook and weighing down sentiment in the market. Muted earnings reported from corporates for the third quarter financial results also added to the gloom and made investors question the robustness of the Indian markets.

The consistent decline in the markets follows Trump’s announcement to impose additional tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, leading to fears of a broader trade war. The US President on February 10 signed an order hiking the tariffs on aluminium imports to 25 per cent from the earlier 10 per cent and also reinstated a 25 per cent tariff on steel imports.

Abhishek Raj, Founder and CEO, Jenika Ventures, noted, “The recent market meltdown serves as a stark reminder of the inherent volatility that shapes global financial institutions. A sharp decline in market value, fueled by investor sentiment, geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty has understandably triggered concern.”