Markets: In early trading on Monday, the Sensex plummeted 742 points to 71,922 as Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) persisted with extensive selling on Dalal Street throughout May. Sectors such as auto, consumer durables, and metal witnessed significant losses, emerging as the top losers. The Nifty also experienced a decline of 194 points to 21,861, indicating a prevailing weak investor sentiment on Dalal Street.

Today’s market crash saw investors losing a staggering Rs 4.85 lakh crore in wealth, with the total investor wealth shrinking to Rs 391.75 lakh crore compared to the previous session’s valuation of Rs 396.6 lakh crore on May 10. Leading the losses on the Sensex were stocks like Tata Motors, JSW Steel, IndusInd Bank, SBI, Tata Steel, NTPC, and RIL, which fell by up to 7.69% in early trading.

The BSE witnessed 33 stocks hitting their 52-week lows, while 89 stocks reached their 52-week highs. Market breadth was predominantly in the red, with only 910 out of 3,431 traded stocks showing gains. Meanwhile, 2371 stocks were in the red, and 125 stocks remained unchanged.

All 19 BSE sectoral indices were trading lower, with auto, capital goods, and consumer durables leading the losses. The BSE auto, metal, capital goods, and consumer durables indices tanked by 1333 points, 669 points, 452 points, and 524 points, respectively.

Amidst the market downturn, 158 stocks hit their lower circuit limits, while 153 shares defied the negative sentiment by hitting their upper circuit limits on the BSE.

The broader market indices also witnessed a significant decline, with the BSE midcap index dropping by 632 points to 40,395, and the small-cap stocks index crashing by 773 points to 44623 level.

In terms of FII-DII data, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 2117 crore on a net basis on Friday, while domestic investors bought shares worth Rs 2709 crore, according to provisional NSE data. FIIs have offloaded equities worth Rs 24,975 crore in the last seven trading sessions leading up to May 10.