A wave of selling across the board in the February 28 session sent both the Nifty and the Sensex to record their worst intraday performance in the current calendar year so far. Escalating global trade tensions prompted investors to flee from equities at an accelerated pace, leaving stocks to plunge sharply and erasing significant market value.
The broader market has seen more intense selling pressure as valuation concerns continue to weigh on investor sentiment, resulting in a more severe fall. All 13 major sectoral indices ended the session in negative territory.
Here are the key highlights of the Indian stock market today:
Worst intraday performance of Nifty, Sensex: The Nifty ended the session with a 1.85% decline, closing at 22,128 points, marking its biggest single day fall of 2025. The Sensex also recorded its worst intraday fall of the year, tumbling 1.90% to 73,198 points. Both indices wrapped up February with nearly 6% drop and closed in the red for the fifth consecutive month.
Today's selling pushed the Nifty down 4,149 points (16%) from its September peak of 26,277 points. Similarly, the Sensex has plunged 12,780 points (15%) from its peak of 85,978.
The sharp drop in shares of Infosys, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, TCS, and Mahindra & Mahindra collectively accounted for 195 points, or 47%, of the Nifty 50's 420-point decline in today's session. Infosys emerged as the top loser, dragging the index down by 57.3 points.
IT, worst sectoral performer: The Nifty IT index, which tracks the performance of 10 leading IT companies, emerged as the worst-performing sector today, ending the session with a 4.18% decline, hitting a six-month low of 37,167. Today's decline is also the index’s biggest intraday drop since April 17, 2023, when it tumbled 4.71%.
All 10 constituents of the index closed in the red, with Tech Mahindra, Persistent Systems, and Wipro posting losses of up to 6%.
Mid- and smallcap indices tumble 2.5% each: Both mid-cap and small-cap indices continued to witness heavy selling pressure in today's session, with the Nifty Midcap 100 ending 2.49% lower at 47,915 points, marking a 22% decline from its peak.
Likewise, the Nifty Smallcap 100 index dropped 2.50%, closing at 13,844 points, resulting in a 26% correction from its peak of 19,640 points.
45 Nifty stocks end in red: Of the 50 constituents in the Nifty 50 index, 45 stocks ended with deep cuts, led by tech stocks such as Tech Mahindra and Wipro, which dropped 6.3% and 5.7%, respectively. Tata Group stocks, including Titan Company, Tata Consumer Products, Tata Motors, TCS, and Tata Steel, declined between 1% and 5%.
148 Nifty 500 stocks hit fresh 1-year lows: According to Trendlyne data, 148 constituents of the Nifty 500 index tumbled to fresh 52-week lows in today's session. Some of the notable stocks include TBO Tek, Jio Financial Services, Oil India, Tata Technologies, Titagarh Rail Systems, Birlasoft, Sonata Software, Action Construction Equipment, RailTel Corporation, and Elgi Equipments.
20 stocks end with cuts between 10-20%: Overall, 20 stocks ended today's session with sharp declines ranging between 10% and 20%, including well-known names such as Bombay Wire Ropes, TBO Tek, BSE, and Octaware Technologies.
318 stocks locked in lower circuit limits: According to data available on the NSE, 318 stocks have touched their respective lower circuit limits, ranging between 5% and 10%.
Several stocks hit their lower circuit limits in today's session, including Twamev Construction and Infrastructure, which declined 10% to close at ₹40.45. Likewise, ASK Automotive also touched the 10% lower circuit, settling at ₹355.
(By arrangement with livemint.com)
