Indian rupee hits historic low against dollar, triggers major stock market crash at Monday's opening

Stock Market: The stock market experienced a significant downturn at the opening of trading on Monday, January 13, 2025, primarily influenced by declines in the real estate, financial services, and consumer durables sectors.

Market Overview

At 9:20 AM IST, the benchmark BSE Sensex plummeted by 677.22 points, reflecting a decrease of 0.88% to settle at 76,701.69. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty index fell by 212.90 points or 0.91%, reaching 23,218.60. This market crash coincided with the Indian rupee hitting an unprecedented low of 86.3537 against the US dollar, driven by a strong dollar following positive employment data from the United States.

Notable Stock Movements

Among the stocks listed on the Sensex, Zomato Ltd suffered the most significant loss, dropping by 2.86% to ₹236.05. Other notable declines included Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd with a decrease of 2.13%, trading at ₹3,026.05, and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, which fell by 2.07% to ₹293.60.In contrast, only two stocks managed to stay afloat in positive territory: IndusInd Bank Ltd rose by 2.05% to ₹956.80 and Axis Bank Ltd increased by 0.44%, trading at ₹1,045.40.

Sector Performance

The sectoral performance mirrored the overall market sentiment, with all indices closing in negative territory. The Nifty Realty index experienced the steepest decline at 2.06%, settling at 943.50, followed closely by Nifty Midsmall Financial Services which fell by 1.84% to reach 14,730.20, and Nifty Consumer Durables which dropped by 1.61%, closing at 39,930.70.Even the IT sector, which had shown resilience in previous sessions, saw a downturn of 0.44%, ending at 44,413.20.

Previous Session Recap

The previous trading session on January 10 had already indicated bearish trends with the Sensex closing down by 241.30 points (0.31%) at 77,378.91 and Nifty down by 95 points (0.4%) at 23,431.50.Despite a strong performance from IT stocks last week—where Tata Consultancy Services Ltd surged by 5.67%—the overall market sentiment has shifted dramatically as investors react to economic indicators and global cues.

As investors navigate this volatile landscape marked by significant losses across multiple sectors and a weakening currency, market analysts will be closely monitoring upcoming economic data for potential recovery signals.