Stock Market Crash: Sensex dives 1,000 pts, Nifty closes below 24,350

The Sensex on Tuesday tumbled over 1,000 points or 1.3 percent to close at 80,684.45, while the Nifty shed over 330 points or 1.4 percent to end at 24,336.A cocktail of concerns—a higher-than-expected trade deficit weighing on the rupee, nervousness ahead of the US Fed FOMC meeting, and a slowdown in Chinese retail sales—rattled investor sentiment.
The financial sector faced additional pressure as HDFC Bank shares fell over 1 percent following a warning letter from SEBI, alleging non-compliance in disclosures regarding the resignation of a senior employee. The Nifty Bank, Nifty Private Bank, and Nifty PSU Bank indices dropped over 1 percent each, with Axis Bank and ICICI Bank contributing to the weakness.
Despite the rupee's depreciation, export-heavy Indian IT stocks failed to gain traction. The Nifty IT index slipped 0.7 percent, weighed down by losses in TCS, Infosys, and LTIMindtree, which declined 0.5-2 percent.The BSE Smallcap and BSE Midcap indices, which held firm in early trade, succumbed to selling pressure in the second half, falling 0.5 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
Investors now await the Federal Reserve's policy decision on December 18, where a 25-basis-point rate cut is almost certain, with odds standing at 97 percent, as per the CME FedWatch tool. More importantly, markets are bracing for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's commentary on the trajectory of interest rates, which could dictate sentiment in the days ahead.
Top losers on the Nifty 50 index included Shriram Finance, Grasim, Bharti Airtel, Hero MotoCorp, and JSW Steel, falling between 2-5 percent. Meanwhile, Cipla emerged as the sole gainer, rising 0.2 percent.