Over Rs 50 lakh crore wiped out from stock market in first two months of 2025

NEW DELHI: The domestic stock market has witnessed a massive sell-off since the beginning of 2025, leading to a loss of over Rs 50 lakh crore in market capitalization within just two months.

According to data from the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the total market capitalization of listed companies stood at around Rs 445 lakh crore on January 1, 2025. However, persistent selling pressure has dragged it down to approximately Rs 393 lakh crore as of the end of February.

This sharp decline reflects heightened investor concerns, driven by global economic uncertainties, rising interest rates, and geopolitical tensions. The continuous outflow of funds from domestic and foreign investors has contributed to the sharp erosion of market value.

Ajay Bagga, banking and market expert, said, “With Nifty 50 down 16 per cent and mid cap and small cap indices down more than 20 per cent each since the September all-time highs, investor wealth in Indian markets has reduced by around $850 billion since Sep last week. In January and February, around $550 billion wealth erosion has happened in terms of market cap fall”.

The markets are largely in selling mode because of the fear of implementation of 25 per cent on US imports from Canada and Mexico which is set to take effect in the coming week. Experts believe that factors such as earnings reports will play a crucial role in determining market trends in the coming months.

Foreign investors are persistently selling from Indian markets since September last year. During the last month in February also, the Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) continued to pull out funds from the Indian stock market, selling equities worth Rs 34,574 crore, according to data from the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL).

The trend of selling remained strong throughout the week from February 24 to February 28, during which FPIs offloaded equities worth Rs 10,905 crore. However, on Friday, foreign investors turned net buyers, investing Rs 1,119 crore.

Despite this, Indian stock markets witnessed a sharp decline on Friday, with both the Nifty and Sensex falling by over 1.8 per cent. So far in 2025, foreign investors have sold a total of Rs 1,12,601 crore worth of equities, indicating a persistent outflow of funds. (ANI)