Sensex plunges 500 points; investors lose nearly ₹2 lakh crore - 10 key highlights from Indian stock market today

The Indian stock market extended losses to the second day on Tuesday, December 2, as investors booked profits at higher levels amid weakness in the rupee and persistent foreign investor outflows.
Meanwhile, investor focus will now shift to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) three-day monetary policy meeting, slated to begin tomorrow, with the outcome on December 5.
BSE Sensex plunged 504 points or 0.59% to 85,138, while Nifty 50 settled at 26,032, down 144 points or 0.55%. The market capitalisation of all listed companies on the BSE declined by ₹1.82 lakh crore to ₹472.59 lakh crore during the trade.
The broader markets also declined but managed to outperform the benchmarks, as the BSE Smallcap index fell 0.49% and the BSE Midcap shed 0.14%.
Stock market today: 10 key highlights
Here are 10 key highlights from the Indian stock market today:
1. What's behind the fall in indices today?
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, said, “Domestic markets continued to witness profit booking amid worries over the weakening rupee and persistent FII outflows. Meanwhile, the NSE’s sectoral index overhaul in line with SEBI regulations led to corrections in major banking counters. In the near term, fading expectations of an RBI rate cut owing to strong GDP data and the uncertainty around US–India trade discussions may keep investors on edge.”
Even so, solid domestic macro fundamentals and a strengthening earnings outlook for the second half of the fiscal year are likely to lend support going forward, he added.
2. Top Nifty gainers
Fifteen Nifty 50 stocks closed in the green today, with Asian Paints emerging as the best performer, rising 3.15% following an upgrade by UBS. Meanwhile, Dr Reddy's Labs, Maruti, Bharti Airtel, SBI Life and Trent followed suit, gaining 1%-0.5%.
3. Top Nifty losers
On the flip side, IndiGo was the worst performer as it declined 1.6%. Other index heavyweights like ICICI Bank, RIL, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Adani Enterprises also ended deep in the red, shedding over 1% each.
4. Barring pharma, all indices end lower
All major sectoral indices, barring Nifty Pharma closed with cuts. Nifty Bank index (down 0.68%) and Nifty Financial Services (down 0.90%) were the worst performers amid a rejig in index weights by the NSE. Auto, IT, metals and realty also closed with cuts.
5. 8 stocks gain over 10%
On NSE, eight stocks closed at least 10% higher today. Tips Films and SPARC were the best performers with a massive 19.99% surge. They were closely trailed by Easy Trip Planners, whose shares surged a whopping 19.92%.
Shyam Cement, Jet Freight Logistics, Alpa Laboratories, HCC and Ausom Enterprise were among other lead gainers.
6. 2 stocks fall over 10%
Priti International and JHS Svendgaard Retail Ventures have lost over 10% each in trade today to emerge as top losers on the NSE.
7. 45 stocks scale 52-week high
Despite weakness in the Indian stock market, 52 stocks scaled 52-week high levels in trade today. Some of the prominent names include Asian Paints, Bank of Baroda, AU SFB, Federal Bank, Paytm, Motherson Sumi, Union Bank and Vedanta.
8. 180 stocks touch 52-week lows
Awfis, Bata India, Deepak Nitrite, Devyani International, Excelsoft Technologies, JSW Cement, PFC, and PC Jeweller are among the stocks that touched 52-week lows today.
9. Most active stocks
Vodafone Idea was the most active stock on Dalal Street today as 64.93 crore shares of the telecom company changed hands, while Bajaj Housing Finance followed suit with 43.95 crore shares traded. HCC, Ease My Trip, and JP Power were among the most actively traded stocks on NSE today.
10. Advance-decline ratio
The advance-decline ratio favoured sellers as 2007 stocks on NSE declined and 1084 gained.
Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations expressed are those of individual analysts or broking firms, not Mint. We advise investors to consult with certified experts before making any investment decisions, as market conditions can change rapidly and circumstances may vary.