Press Trust of India
Mumbai, Feb 11: Returning to the UPA regime levels, the market benchmark Sensex Thursday saw its 8th biggest single-day fall of 807 points as panic gripped the domestic bourses amid growing global economic slowdown fears. Following Thursday’s fall, the Sensex has come off over 23 per cent from its all-time peak of 30,024 points recorded nearly a year ago on March 4, while the total investors’ wealth has come down by close to Rs 20 lakh crore since then.
The Sensex Thursday closed 807.07 points down at 22,951.83 points — the lowest closing level for the benchmark since May 8, 2014 — a time when the previous UPA government was still in power and the Lok Sabha elections were underway. The elections got over May 12 that year and the results were announced on May 16, giving a sweeping victory to the NDA and Narendra Modi-led government assumed power on May 26. The stock markets had given a big thumbs up to the new government as the Sensex went on to make new record highs, crossing 30,000-points milestone for the first time in March last year.
However, a sharp meltdown in the global markets and a sustained outflow of funds by foreign investors reversed the trend thereafter and the Sensex recently dipped to its lowest level since the NDA government came to power. Plunging further, the Sensex Thursday moved further deep into the UPA era. The total investors’ wealth, measured in terms of cumulative value of all listed stocks, stood at close to Rs 106 lakh crore at the peak of the markets on March 4, 2015. This has now fallen to Rs 86.34 lakh crore.
Thursday’s fall is the eighth biggest single-day plunge for the Sensex, the biggest being at 1,624.51 points on August 24, 2015 — again during the current NDA regime. Still, eight out of the top-ten single day falls for the Sensex so far have been recorded during the first UPA regime– seven in 2008 and one in 2007.
Deep dive of Sensex
August 24, 2015: 1,624.51 points
January 21, 2008: 1,408.35 points
March 17, 2008: 951.03 points
March 3, 2008 : 900.84 points
January 22, 2008: 875.41 points
February 11, 2008: 833.98 points
May 18, 2008: 826.38 points
March 13, 2008: 770.63 points
December 17, 2007: 769.48 points
