Tuesday was a forgettable day for the investors on Dalal Street. The Bombay Stock Exchange's (BSE) benchmark Sensex tanked 769.88 points, or 2.06 percent, to close at 36,562.91. Overall, the investors' wealth dropped Rs 2.55 lakh crore, which is one the sharpest dips of the year.
The market capitalisation of BSE listed companies plummeted from Rs 2,55,585.56 crore to Rs 1,38,42,866.10 crore. Discouraging economic data, trade war and tepid growth have created a negative sentiment among the investors, leading to huge selling on Dalal Street.
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, billionaire Investor and trader, also witnessed the value of his investments eroding sharply. During the mayhem on Tuesday, Jhunjhunwala's portfolio tanked more than Rs 200 crore.
The Economic Times reported that Titan, which is one of the best-performing stocks in his portfolio, fell more than 3 percent amid Tata group cutting down its FY20 guidance for revenue growth in its 'watch' division, highlighting a slowdown in the demand. Notably, Jhunjhunwala and his wife Rekha Jhunjhunwala own more than 7 percent in Titan, which was worth Rs 6,700 crore after the benchmark fell sharply on Tuesday.
For Titan, jewellery accounts formed a major part of its revenue and its watch division contributed around 13 percent or Rs 2,441 crore of the company's overall sales in the last financial year.
Interestingly, the Indian watch market is dominated by Titan, with the company controlling around 50 percent of the entire market. The value of its shares has fallen more than 20 percent from its 52-week high of Rs 1,345 hit in July 2019. Amid economic slowdown, the jewellery maker said that its growth target of 20 percent is at risk.
Among Jhunjhunwala's other portfolio stocks, Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) is down by 81 percent year to date. Last week, its board approved the conversion of whole or part of its debt into equity shares which could lead to change in ownership.
Edelweiss Financial Services, one of the other stocks in Jhunjhunwala's portfolio, has tanked around 37 percent since the beginning of this year. Escorts, his other investment, is also registering a sales slowdown that has eventually affected the stock, which is down 27 percent since January.
