The Indian stock market resumed its downward trajectory on Wednesday, January 8, as weak global cues and economic concerns weighed heavily on investor sentiment. The Sensex plunged by over 700 points during intraday trade, while the Nifty 50 dropped below 23,500, reinforcing concerns that the previous day’s gains were temporary with Rs 3.3 lakh crore investor money being wiped out.
Economic worries, including disappointing domestic GDP estimates and robust US economic data that dampened expectations of Fed rate cuts, contributed to the market's decline. The upcoming Q3 earnings season also added to investor jitters, with expectations of further earnings downgrades. Sensex opened at 78,319.45 and fell by 700 points, or 0.90%, slipping below 77,500, while the Nifty 50 opened at 23,746.65 and dropped 200 points, or 0.90%, to 23,496.15.
Among the top gainers were ONGC, Reliance Industries, Dr Reddy's Labs, BPCL, and Maruti Suzuki, while Shriram Finance, Trent, Titan Company, Adani Ports, and SBI were the major losers. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices each fell by 1%.