Stock market updates: It was circa March 2020 at Dalal Street on Monday as fears that the government could go for stricter lockdowns to curb the second wave of Covid-19, hampering the economic recovery, spooked market participants. Such was the panic selling that investor wealth tumbled by nearly Rs 8 trillion on the BSE with the m-cap sliding to Rs 201 trillion by close.
Among the headline indices, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex plunged nearly 1,900 points while the Nifty50 cracked about 590 points in the intra-day deals to hit lows of 47,693 and 14,249, respectively.
At close, the headline indices were 3.5 per cent lower each at 47,883 levels and 14,311 level, down 1,708 points and 524 points, respectively.
Only one constituent on the Sensex (Dr Reddy's Labs) and four on the Nifty (Dr Reddy's Labs, Cipla, Divis Labs, and Britannia) ende the day in the green. Among the losers were Tata Motors, Adani Ports, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, UPL, SBI, Hindalco, and Shree Cement, down in the range of 5.6 per cent to 10 per cent.
Broader markets, on the other hand, faced an even severe blow with the S&P BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices dropping 5 per cent each.
Sectorally, the Nifty PSU Bank index plummeted 9 per cent, Nifty Realty slipped 7 per cent, and Nifty Bank, Private Bank, Metal, and Auto indices skidded between 5 per cent and 6 per cent.
Global markets Global stock markets sank on Monday as investors waited to see whether U.S. earnings would justify sky-high valuations, while a rally in bonds could be tested by what should be strong readings for U.S. inflation and retail sales this week.
MSCI’s All Country World Index, which tracks stocks across 49 countries, was down 0.25 per cent after the start of European trading, off Friday’s record high.
European shares eased off record highs as investors held off from making big bets before earnings season. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.3 per cent. The UK's FTSE mid 250 index slipped 0.6 per cent. Germany’s DAX slipped 0.1 per cent and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.2 per cent. Italy’s FTSE MIB was the sole gainer, up 0.05 per cent.
Earlier in Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei edged down 0.6 per cent. South Korean stocks were near flat.
(With inputs from Reuters)