October has proved to be the worst-ever month for world equity markets with investors losing an estimated $ 5.8 tn in the month, while Indian markets suffered a loss of nearly $ 62 bn.
According to global index provider Standard and Poor's, the total loss registered by 52 global equity markets so far this year has been $ 16.22 tn dollars amid increasing concerns for the global economy slipping into recession.
"What do you get when you add the underlying concern of the economy and the fear of a worldwide recession to a market already devastated by credit issues? You get the worst-ever month for global equity markets in modern history," Standard & Poor's Senior Index Analyst Howard Silverblatt said.
The data compiled by Standard and Poor's shows that Indian markets have plunged over 64% so far this year, while investors have lost a whopping over $ 270 bn till October in 2008.
In October, Indian equity markets witnessed an erosion of $ 61.94 bn , with stock prices plummeting nearly 29% in the month.
The benchmark index Sensex dropped to below 10,000 from over 13,000, in October. Overall, world equity markets saw a fall of more than 42 % in stock prices, leading to a loss of over $ 16.2 tn till October this year.
So far this year, in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) region, Russia has been the worst-hit with stock prices dropping by over 65 per cent, followed by India (64.70%), China (58.87%) and Brazil (53.22%).