New-age companies listed recently stayed under pressure as markets fell sharply on Monday. Sensex and Nifty dropped heavily amid geopolitical tensions, weak global cues, and a falling rupee. Most stocks declined, while few gained. Rising oil prices and foreign investor selling added stress, delaying IPO plans for several firms.

Market rout drags down startup stocks; Lenskart, Ather, Bluestone among big losers

Synopsis

New-age companies listed recently stayed under pressure as markets fell sharply on Monday. Sensex and Nifty dropped heavily amid geopolitical tensions, weak global cues, and a falling rupee. Most stocks declined, while few gained. Rising oil prices and foreign investor selling added stress, delaying IPO plans for several firms.

New‑age companies that listed in the last 12-18 months remained under pressure on Monday amid a broader market correction and global risk‑off sentiment.

Stock markets tumbled on Monday, with the Sensex plunging over 1,900 points and the Nifty falling over 600 points to close below the crucial 22,500 level amid geopolitical tensions, softer global growth cues, and a weakening rupee. With this, the newer listings were impacted as well.

Here's how the roster performed on Monday:

1) Lenskart: The eyewear retailer closed down 6% at Rs 498.

2) Groww: The fintech major was among the outliers, closed up 0.62% at Rs 162.2.

3) Meesho: Ended the day down 1.83% lower, at Rs 141.95.

4) Pine Labs: Down 3.13% at Rs 159.35.

5) PhysicsWallah: Down 3.31% at Rs 86.89.

6) Ather Energy: Closed down nearly 4.5%, at Rs 748.45.

7) Urban Company: Closed at Rs 110, down 3.51%.

8) BlueStone: Fell 6.38% to Rs 511.90.

9) Wakefit: Fell nearly 4% to Rs 155.

10) Shadowfax: Down 1.21% at Rs 110.60.

11) Capillary Technologies: The stock fell 5.9% to Rs 476.70.

12) Amagi Labs: Down 2.56% at Rs 337.50.

13) Fractal Analytics: Down 2.9% at Rs 799.

Main factors behind the crash

Oil prices continued to remain elevated as the war between Iran and the US-Israel saw fresh escalations over the weekend.

The Indian rupee extended its sharp decline against the dollar, opening at a record low on Monday. The currency fell to 93.95 against the dollar today, breaking its previous all-time low of 93.73 on Friday.

Foreign investors have been strongly selling Indian equities since the beginning of the war in the oil-rich Middle East amid a global risk-off sentiment in markets.

IPO plans hit

The geopolitical tensions have also hindered or triggered a rethink in new-age companies hoping to list this year. Last week, PhonePe decided to push back its $1.3-billion initial public offering (IPO) amid volatile market conditions and differences over its valuation with mutual fund investors. ET reported that this is likely to impact the listing timelines of several new-age firms.

Companies such as Zepto, Oyo, Flipkart, Razorpay, Infra Market, and Acko are among those considering an IPO in the next 12 months.

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