LUCKNOW: The stock market eroding investor wealth by Rs19 lakh crore in a single day is a sign of a deep recession in the Indian economy, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Monday, blaming the crash on the US’ imposition of reciprocal tariffs that triggered a sharp fall in global bourses.
Akhilesh Yadav accused the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre of “emptying” people’s pockets through inflation, corruption, and now what he described as the “great collapse” of the markets.
In a post in Hindi on X, addressing retail investors, the SP chief said, “The loss of almost Rs19 lakh crore in the stock market in a day is an indication of a great recession for the Indian economy.”
He added that the government had drained citizens not only through high prices and graft, but also through the erosion in investor wealth caused by the market crash.
Akhilesh Yadav cautioned the public against trusting leaders who had previously encouraged retail participation in the equity markets. “Remember, these were the same people who, while holding constitutional posts, lured the common people into stock market investments in an illegal manner,” he said.
Referring to intermediaries in the stock market, he said, “The heartless middlemen, who earn from every purchase and sale of shares, do not have even an iota of sympathy for investors.”
“We had cautioned earlier and today we are warning again – common investors, especially the middle class and the youth, should not fall prey to superficial greed. They should be patient and take care of their hard-earned money,” he added.
Benchmark indices nosedive
On Monday, benchmark indices nosedived, mirroring a global sell-off. The 30-share BSE Sensex crashed 2,226.79 points, or 2.95 per cent, to close at 73,137.90, marking its steepest single-day fall in 10 months.
During the session, it had plunged as much as 3,939.68 points, or 5.22 per cent, to hit an intra-day low of 71,425.01.
The NSE Nifty also tumbled 742.85 points, or 3.24 per cent, to end at 22,161.60. It had fallen as much as 1,160.8 points, or 5.06 per cent, to touch an intra-day low of 21,743.65.
All Sensex constituents, barring Hindustan Unilever, closed in the red. Tata Steel led the losers with a fall of 7.33 per cent, followed by Larsen & Toubro, which declined 5.78 per cent.
The rout extended across Asia, where Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index sank over 13 per cent, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 plunged nearly 8 per cent, the Shanghai Composite dropped more than 7 per cent, and South Korea’s Kospi declined over 5 per cent.
European stocks also came under intense pressure, registering losses of up to 6 per cent in early trade.
US markets had closed sharply lower on Friday. The S&P 500 fell 5.97 per cent, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.82 per cent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 5.50 per cent.
