Investors' wealth took a severe hit, eroding by Rs 20.16 lakh crore on Monday morning, as benchmark indices faced a massive sell-off. The Sensex plunged over 5 per cent, driven by a global market meltdown amid growing fears of a trade war.

The 30-share BSE benchmark nosedived 3,939.68 points, or 5.22 per cent, to 71,425.01 during early trade, reflecting widespread panic among investors.

Mirroring the sharp fall in equities, the total market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies tumbled by Rs 20,16,293.53 crore to Rs 3,83,18,592.93 crore (approximately USD 4.50 trillion) in morning deals.

Also Read: Indian stock market crashes amid US reciprocal tariff fears

Sensex Stocks Bleed; Tata Steel, Tata Motors Plunge Over 10%

All Sensex constituents were in the red. Tata Steel and Tata Motors saw the steepest fall, both slipping over 10 per cent. Other major laggards included Larsen & Toubro, HCL Technologies, Adani Ports, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, TCS, Reliance Industries, and Mahindra & Mahindra.

Asian Markets Mirror Global Panic

The bloodbath wasn't limited to India. Asian markets witnessed heavy losses as well. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped over 11 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 tanked 7 per cent, the Shanghai SSE Composite index fell nearly 7 per cent, and South Korea’s Kospi slid more than 5 per cent.

Wall Street Sinks Deep on Friday

US markets ended sharply lower on Friday. The S&P 500 fell by 5.97 per cent, the Nasdaq Composite declined 5.82 per cent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 5.50 per cent.

Experts Advise Caution Amid Uncertainty

“Markets globally are witnessing extreme volatility due to heightened uncertainty. No one knows how the trade war triggered by Trump's tariffs will unfold. In such turbulent times, the best approach is to wait and watch,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Crude Oil Slips; Brent Down Nearly 3%

The global oil benchmark, Brent crude, dropped by 2.76 per cent, trading at USD 63.77 a barrel.

The BSE smallcap index plummeted 6.62 per cent, while the midcap gauge declined by 5.01 per cent, reflecting widespread selling across market segments.

Sectoral Indices Deep in Red

All BSE sectoral indices traded lower. The metal index tumbled nearly 8 per cent, followed by industrials (6.39 per cent), commodities (6.14 per cent), IT (5.71 per cent), BSE Focused IT (5.57 per cent), consumer discretionary (5.42 per cent), and teck (4.84 per cent).

Metal stocks hit hard; Tata Steel tanks over 11.50 pc

Shares of metal firms were hit hard on Monday morning trade after US President Donald Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs fanned fears of a global trade war. 
Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled over 5 per cent in early trade, in tandem with a sharp fall in global equities, after US President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes and retaliation from China made investors jittery that a full-blown trade war will impact economic growth across the globe. 

The stock of Tata Steel tanked 11.56 per cent, National Aluminium Company Ltd slumped 11.22 per cent, APL Apollo Tubes dived 10 per cent, SAIL declined 9.99 per cent,

JSW Steel lost 9.92 per cent, and Jindal Stainless dropped 9.91 per cent on the BSE. 
Shares of Hindustan Zinc sank 9.83 per cent, Hindalco Industries slumped 8.95 per cent, NMDC tumbled 8.48 per cent and Jindal Steel & Power (8.19 per cent). 

The BSE metal index dropped 6.52 per cent to 26,594.09.

The steeper-than-expected reciprocal tariffs by the Trump Administration have fuelled recession fears and raised concerns over global economic growth, leading to a sharp slump in metal stocks. 

Shares of metal companies had tanked more than 8 per cent on Friday.

“China decided to retaliate with a 34 per cent tariff on all US imports effective April 10, opting not to negotiate. Investors fear that the new tariffs imposed by Trump will weaken demand for industrial commodities. This could be worsened if impacted countries retaliate, leading to a global trade war,” Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, said."
   
(With PTI Inputs)