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The Indian stock market faced a major sell-off last week due to weak global cues and concerns over Donald Trump’s tariffs. Sensex fell 1,400 points, closing at 73,198, while Nifty ended at 22,124.
Stock Market Crash: 5 worst market crashes in India’s history. (AI Generated)
Stock Market Crash: The weak global cues, the concern over Donald Trump’s tariff imposition on several nations, and the narrative of ‘Sell India, Buy China’ triggered mayhem in the Indian stock market last week. Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex faced major sell-off pressure last Friday to close nearly 2 per cent lower.
Sensex settled at 73,198 after crashing more than 1,400 points or -1.90 per cent on Friday against the previous day’s close at 74,612. Over the past five sessions, the benchmark lost nearly 2,200 points or -3 per cent. Nifty too suffered a drastic decline to end at 22,124 with a fall of 420 points or 1.86 per cent.
Top 5 Stock Market Crashes In India’s Stock Market History:
1. The Global Financial Crisis (2008):
The collapse of Lehman Brothers, one of the largest US investment bankers, and the US subprime crisis triggered a recession at the global level. As the popular saying goes, ‘when the US sneezes, the world catches a cold’, so did an economic recession occur.
The impact of the recession was reflected in the Indian domestic equity market as the benchmark crashed over 60 per cent following the Global Financial Crisis. It came down around 8,000 points from 21,000, leading to a major wipeout of investment.
2. Harshad Mehta Scam (1992)
Stockbroker Harshad Mehta used loopholes in the system to manipulate the market by using bank funds and inflated stock prices. Once the scam was unveiled after a major investigation, it had a major impact on the stock market with a crash of over 55 per cent in ensuing months. Sensex crashed from 4,467 to 2,529.
3. 1997 Asian Financial Crisis
East Asian countries had been embroiled in a financial crisis caused by the collapse of the currency exchange rate and a hot money bubble. The financial crisis severely damaged currency values, stock markets, and other asset prices in many East and Southeast Asian countries.
Owing to the Asian Financial Crisis, Sensex crashed from 4,600 to below 3,000 amid the large-scale sell-offs. It fell around 35 per cent.
4. Ketan Parekh Scam (2001)
Another scam exposition shook the stock market in India, triggering panic and a sell-off among investors. When it was exposed that trader Ketan Parekh manipulated stock prices using borrowed money, especially in tech stocks, the Sensex fell from 5,800 to 4,000, reflecting a decline of 31 per cent.
5. Covid-19 Market Crash (2020)
The first wave of Covid-19 triggered lockdowns and economic uncertainty at the global level. On 23 March 2020, the Sensex crashed 3,934 points (13%) in a single day, marking one of its worst falls.
