Sensex plunges 3,935 pts in biggest 1-day fall; investors lose Rs 13.88 trn
All that happened in markets today
 "Markets Loss")
Equity market crumbled on Monday as stocks across-the-board fell like ninepins after India went into the lockdown to contain the spread of Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. In the early deals, trading was once again halted for 45 minutes as the Sensex hit a lower circuit limit of 10 per cent. The sell-off continued when the trading resumed. It was the second instance of trading halt in the Indian market in a span of 10 days. Earlier, in March 13, Nifty hit lower circuit in the opening deals for the first time since May 2009.
The S&P BSE Sensex nosedived 3,935 points or over 13 per cent to settle at 25,981 levels with all the 30 constituents ending in the red. On the NSE, the benchmark Nifty tanked a whopping 1,135 points or 13 per cent to end the session at 7,610. Fear guage India VIX rose 6.64 per cent to 71.56 levels. With today's fall, investors lost Rs 13.88 trillion wealth while in the last month investors have lost Rs 56.22 trillion.
Among sectoral indices on the NSE, rate-sensitive stocks took the biggest knock with the Nifty Private Bank index plunging over 17 per cent to 9,030 levels. Axis Bank was the biggest loser on the index - down 28 per cent at Rs 310 apiece. Nifty Bank slipped over 16 per cent or 3,299 points to end at 17,018 while Nifty Auto plunged over 14 per cent or 761 points to 4,609 levels.
Among sectoral indices on the NSE, rate-sensitive stocks took the biggest knock with the Nifty Private Bank index plunging over 17 per cent to 9,030 levels. Axis Bank was the biggest loser on the index - down 28 per cent at Rs 310 apiece. Nifty Bank slipped over 16 per cent or 3,299 points to end at 17,018 while Nifty Auto plunged over 14 per cent or 761 points to 4,609 levels.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap index slumped 13 per cent to 9,711 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index tanked over 12 per cent to 8,873 levels.
Market breadth was in favour of bears as out of 2,401 stocks traded on the BSE, 233 advanced and 2,036 declined while 132 remained unchanged.
Global Markets
Asian shares sank on Monday as a rising tide of national lockdowns threatened to overwhelm policymakers’ frantic efforts to cushion what is likely to be a deep global recession. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 5.01%, with New Zealand’s market shedding a record 10% as the government closed all non-essential businesses. Shanghai blue chips dropped 2.51%, though Japan’s Nikkei rose 2.0% aided by expectations of more aggressive asset buying by the Bank of Japan. In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 dropped 5.62% to take the index to a seven-year low.
In Europe, too, shares were stuck near seven-year lows.
In commodities, Brent crude prices extended falls with demand sliding as travel and industrial activity contracted across the globe in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus.
(With inputs from Reuters)
4:21 PM
MARKET COMMENT | Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services
With the spread of Covid-19 continuing unabated and the fears of global recession increasing, the Indian markets crashed. The markets closed much lower in percentage terms compared to the Asian and European markets, which indicated increased uncertainty regarding the spread of the virus in India after the government indicated that the country was in a crucial phase in its fight against the virus. Further measures and lockdowns are expected after manufacturing companies indicated that they would shut down their facilities, which would have an overall impact on business activity and market confidence.
4:13 PM
MARKET AT CLOSE | Nifty Pvt Bank index tumbles over 17%
4:12 PM
MARKET AT CLOSE | All Sensex stocks end in the red
3:45 PM
CLOSING BELL
The S&P BSE Sensex tanked 3,935 points or over 13 per cent to 25,982 levels while NSE's Nifty ended at 7,610, down 1,135 points or 12.98 per cent.
3:27 PM
Trent, Rallis, Polycab and 55 other stocks freeze at 20% lower circuit
As many as 620 stocks out of 2,326 traded on the BSE were locked in lower circuit band, the exchange data shows. Of these, 59 stocks hit 20 per cent lower circuit, while 132 stocks were locked in the lower circuit of 10 per cent on the BSE. READ MORE
3:17 PM
RBI may soon allow repurchase ops in corporate bonds over Covid-19 outbreak
The Reserve Bank of India is considering allowing corporate bonds as collateral for repurchase operations as they seek to cool the recent spike in corporate borrowing costs in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, two sources told Reuters. READ MORE
3:06 PM
MARKET ALERT
3:03 PM
MARKET ALERT :: Indices at day's low
2:59 PM
Containing volatility
There are a few silver linings to the current sell-off. Investors may find value in beaten-down stocks and a weaker rupee could help improve India’s competitiveness. Another positive is low energy prices, which help the trade balance and assist in containing the fiscal deficit. But the bottom line is, markets hate uncertainty and the pandemic is the proverbial black swan, causing huge amounts of it. READ MORE
2:54 PM
Heatmap: S&P BSE Sensex at this hour
2:47 PM
NEWS ALERT | IGL shuts partial operations due to Covid-19
2:46 PM
» More on 52 Week Low
BSE500 stocks that hit 52-week low today
| COMPANY | PRICE(rs) | 52 WK LOW | CHG(%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3M INDIA | 16045.50 | 15891.00 | -7.34 |
| AAVAS FINANCIERS | 1044.10 | 1044.10 | -20.00 |
| ACC | 1002.30 | 986.35 | -11.18 |
| ADANI PORTS | 215.25 | 203.55 | -16.26 |
| ADITYA BIRLA CAP | 41.40 | 41.40 | -10.00 |
2:39 PM
NEWS ALERT | Lok Sabha passes Finance Bill 2020 without discussion
2:35 PM
SoftBank to sell up to $41 billion in assets to buy shares, reduce debt
monetising up to 4.5 trillion yen ($41 billion) in assets to buy back 2 trillion yen of its shares and reduce debt, sending its stock soaring to its biggest daily gain in nearly 12 years. The share buyback will be in addition to the up to 500 billion yen buyback announced earlier this month, in the Japanese tech conglomerate's biggest ever repurchase. READ MORE
2:31 PM
MARKET CHECK | Bajaj Finance slumps 20%
Topics : Markets MARKET WRAP
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First Published: Mar 23 2020 | 7:48 AM IST
