Blood bath in D-Street: Sensex hits 15-month low, crashes over 2,400 points on coronavirus fears
Share/Stock Market Today Live Updates: The benchmark equity indices on the BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) edged below 6 per cent in afternoon deals on Monday tracking weakness in the global markets which tumbled due to rising concerns over the economic impact of coronavirus and crashing crude oil prices.
The S&P BSE Sensex crashed as much as 2,467.44 points (6.57 per cent) to hit a 15-month low of 35,109.18 during the afternoon trade on Monday, while the broader Nifty 50 index on the NSE slipped as much as 695.00 points (6.32 per cent) to 10,294.45.
Among the sectoral indices on NSE, the Nifty Metal index was the top laggard of the afternoon, slipping over 7 per cent dragged by Welspun Corp, Vedanta, NMDC and Steel Authority of India. this apart, the Nifty Bank index was down nearly 6 per cent weighed by RBL Bank, IndusInd Bank and ICICI Bank.
Over the past two weeks, the blue-chip Nifty has slid significantly as coronavirus cases in the country rose sharply and the central bank took control of lender Yes Bank. Speaking of Yes Bank, the shares of the private sector lender climbed 40.74 per cent to Rs 22.80 per share on the BSE during the afternoon deals after State Bank of India (SBI) announced that it will pick a 49 per cent stake in the troubled private lender.
Rupee
The rupee breached the 74-mark against the US dollar as it had opened 25 paise lower against the greenback at 74.03. During the intraday trade, it further slipped to 74.18 against the US currency.
Crude oil
Losing more than a quarter of their value, oil prices were set on Monday for their biggest daily rout since the first Gulf War, after Saudi Arabia cut its official prices in a market already reeling from the impact of the coronavirus on global demand.
Saudi Arabia slashed its official selling prices and made plans to ramp up crude output next month after Russia balked at making a further steep output cut proposed by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries to stabilize oil markets.
Brent crude futures were down $11.38, or 25 per cent, at $33.89 a barrel by 0732 GMT, after earlier dropping to $31.02, their lowest since Feb. 12, 2016. Brent futures were on track for their biggest daily decline since Jan. 17, 1991, when prices dropped at the start of the first Gulf War.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell by $11.12, or 27%, to $30.16 a barrel, after touching $27.34, also the lowest since Feb. 12, 2016. The U.S. benchmark was potentially heading for its biggest decline on record, surpassing a 33% fall in January 1991.
Asian Markets
Global share markets plunged on Monday as panicked investors fled to the safety of bonds and the yen to hedge the economic trauma of the coronavirus, while oil plunged more than 30 per cent after Saudi Arabia opened the taps in a price war with Russia.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 4.4 per cent in its worst day since August 2015, while Shanghai blue chips fell 2.9 per cent.
EuroSTOXX 50 futures last traded down 6 per cent, German DAX futures dropped 5.6 per cent and FTSE futures fell 6.5 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei dropped 5.1 per cent and Australia’s commodity-heavy market closed down 7.3 per cent, it’s biggest daily fall since the 2008 global financial crisis.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 hit their lower limit of 2,819 in Asia morning trade, pointing to Wall Street’s rout deepening as investors priced in growing risks of a US recession.
The number of people infected with the coronavirus topped 107,000 across the world as the outbreak reached more countries and caused more economic carnage.
INDIAN EXPRESS
