Investors lose 2.81 lakh cr

New Delhi: Investors' wealth on Thursday tumbled over Rs2.81 lakh crore as stocks declined in line with selloff in global equities. In tandem with weak trend in equities, the market capitalisation (mcap) of BSE-listed firms tanked Rs2,81,147.38 crore to Rs 2,59,97,419.48 crore.

"Markets traded volatile and lost over a per cent, following weak global cues. After the gap down start, the benchmark inched lower in the first half, however, healthy buying in the banking space pared the losses significantly. However, continued pressure in IT majors and a few other index majors capped the upside," said Ajit Mishra, V-P (research), Religare Broking Ltd.

The 30-share BSE benchmark index tanked 581.21 points or 1 per cent to settle at 57,276.94. During the day, it cracked 1,418.79 points to 56,439.36.

HCL Tech was the biggest drag in the 30-share frontline companies pack, falling 4.17 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, Dr Reddy's, Wipro, TCS and Titan. In the broader market, the BSE midcap index and smallcap index declined up to 1.25 per cent. "Key benchmark indices reacted to weakness in other Asian markets, which faced the heat of the US Federal Reserve's hawkish comment. Further, Russia-Ukraine standoff and rising oil prices are also major dampeners for the markets," Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd said. Equity markets were closed on Wednesday on account of Republic Day.