The Indian stock market continued its downward spiral for the fifth consecutive session on Monday, February 24, as the Sensex plunged over 800 points in intraday trade, dragged down by weak global cues and persistent foreign capital outflows. The Nifty 50 also dropped more than 1% as concerns over a potential US-led trade war, macroeconomic slowdown, and fading hopes of a US Fed rate cut weighed on investor sentiment.

The Sensex opened at 74,893.45, down from its previous close of 75,311.06, and tumbled 817 points to 74,493.97. Meanwhile, the Nifty 50, which started at 22,609.35, slid to 22,548.35. Broader markets suffered even deeper losses, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices dropping over 1% each.

As of 11:21 AM, the Sensex was down 732 points (0.97%) at 74,579.05, while the Nifty 50 declined 214 points (0.94%) to 22,581.50.

Concerns over a potential trade war, fuelled by US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, have intensified. Experts fear that increased tariffs could slow down global economic growth, which is already battling inflation and weak demand.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have been aggressively selling Indian equities, driven by high market valuations and rising US bond yields. Data shows that FPIs offloaded nearly ₹37,000 crore worth of stocks in February alone, pushing total outflows past Rs 3 lakh crore since October 2024. Recent macroeconomic indicators suggest that India’s growth momentum is slowing. Moody’s Analytics projects India’s GDP growth to dip from 6.6% in 2024 to 6.4% in 2025 due to weakening global demand and new US tariffs.