A staggering 908 stocks hit a 52-week low on February 28, as relentless selling gripped the markets, wiping out Rs 8.8 lakh crore in market capitalization. Tata Motors led the rout among Nifty heavyweights, plunging 4 percent to Rs 623, while other casualties included ACC, Aarti Drugs, Aarti Industries, 5paisa, Utkarsh Small Finance Bank, ABB India, 3M India, and Timken.
The Sensex and Nifty tumbled nearly 2 percent, dragged down by broad-based losses amid escalating fears of a full-scale global trade war and concerns over a slowing U.S. economy. All 13 major sectoral indices sank deep into the red, with the BSE Smallcap and BSE Midcap indices sliding 2.5 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
Also read: Markets in a reset mode: How the selloff has reshaped stock valuations
IT stocks bore the heaviest blow, with the sectoral index plunging over 4 percent after weak U.S. jobless claims data fueled recession fears. The sell-off deepened through the week, pushing the IT index down nearly 8 percent—far outpacing the Nifty 50’s 2 percent drop.
Banking stocks struggled as well, with the Nifty Bank index slipping 0.8 percent as 11 of its 12 constituents ended in the red. Other sectors weren’t spared either, with Nifty Auto, FMCG, PSU Bank, Healthcare, Oil & Gas, and Media indices tumbling between 2-4 percent.
The meltdown was exacerbated by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff shock on February 27, announcing fresh 25 percent levies on Mexican and Canadian imports from March 4, along with an additional 10 percent duty on Chinese goods—doubling the total levy on Chinese imports to 20 percent following a fentanyl-related tariff imposed earlier this month.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to dump Indian equities, offloading Rs 58,906 crore worth of stocks in February. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs), however, stepped in with net purchases of Rs 64,852 crore, attempting to cushion the blow amid the market turmoil.
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Interestingly, this comes just a day after Nifty declined for five straight monthly F&O expiry cycles, marking its worst monthly losing streak in 29 years. A losing streak of this magnitude is rare. The last time the Nifty endured five consecutive months of decline was between July and November 1996. Before that, its longest slide stretched for eight months, from September 1994 to April 1995.
Small- and mid-cap stocks, typically the hardest hit during market downturns, have taken a severe beating this year, tumbling 14 percent and 19.2 percent, respectively. Despite the sharp correction, experts caution that valuations remain elevated, urging investors to tread carefully in this space.
With uncertainty gripping global markets and India navigating its most challenging market phase in years, investors are bracing for what could be a long road to stability.
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