Mumbai: Investor wealth of BSE-listed firms, as measured by market capitalisation, Wednesday slipped below the crucial Rs 100-lakh crore mark as the benchmark Sensex tumbled over 351 points.
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed slipped to Rs 98,83,222 crore at the close of the trading session.
The Sensex fell below the 27,000-mark to settle at 26,837.20, down 351.18 points on heavy selling in realty and FMCG sectors as contraction in the services sector for the first time in 13 months coupled with drought fears hit market sentiment.
The Sensex has tanked over 1,000 points in the past two days, washing out over Rs 3 lakh crore in market valuation.
"Several short-term concerns have overshadowed investor sentiments, which have led to the Indian stock market sliding for the second consecutive trading session. Thus, the probability of a rate cut in the next policy meet has becoming much slimmer," said Hitesh Agrawal, Head Research of Reliance Securities.
BSE is among the world's 10 largest exchanges in terms of market value while it is the biggest globally for number of firms listed on its platform.
It has over 4,200 companies listed, and over 2.7 crore investors trade on it.
The total market valuation of all listed firms on the BSE had hit a record high of Rs 100 trillion in November 2014.
Among the 30-Sensex stocks, 24 ended with losses led by Tata Power Company and ITC.
At the BSE, 2,168 stocks declined, while 564 advanced. 76 stocks remained unchanged.
