Indian share market fell flat on its face Monday, mirroring a global sell-off fuelled by trade war concerns and rising US recession fears. Benchmark Nifty 50 opened 1,146 points lower, before falling further to hit an intraday low of 5.07%. And while the NSE universe did lose over Rs 20 lakh crore at one point today, this was not the worst.
Data compiled by NDTV Profit Research shows that the Nifty 50 has hit an intraday low of over 5%, 78 times since the start of year 2000; the index was launched in 1996. The benchmark has also fallen over 10% on nine instances.
Worst Indian Stock Market Crashes
The biggest intraday fall the Nifty 50 has seen in the 21st century was on May 17, 2004, when the benchmark fell to an intraday low of 18.34%. It is key to note that this is the only instance the Nifty has fallen over 15% in a single day.
The second and third worst intraday falls were seen on October 5, 2012 and January 22, 2000.
Crash On April 7
Monday's 5.07% crash was the worst Nifty has seen in 2025. However, the large-cap gauge has seen an intraday fall higher than this 69 times since 2000.
This was also the largest intraday fall for the 50-stock benchmark since June 4, 2024, when it fell 8.5%. This crash was primarily attributed to the General Election results deviating from exit poll predictions, indicating a closer contest than anticipated. This introduced uncertainty into the market as the results showed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party did not secure the overwhelming majority that many market participants had expected.
Years That Saw The Most Crashes
The Nifty 50 has seen the most crashes in 2008, followed by in 2012.
Nifty 50 fell over 5% only once in 2003, 2005, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2022, 2024. The index did not fall over 5% even once in 2002, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023.
What Happens When Market Hits Lower Circuit | Watch
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