Nifty sheds 1000 pts; VIX jumps 6%

The market extended slump and hit fresh intraday low in early afternoon trade as the coronavirus outbreak took its toll on the international financial markets. At 12:31 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, crashed 3553.67 points or 11.88% at 26,362.29. The Nifty 50 index slumped 1023.2 points or 11.7% at 7,722.25.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index tanked 11.13% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 10.62%.

Sellers outpaced buyers. On the BSE, 220 shares rose and 1782 shares fell. A total of 103 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, all 50 stocks were in red.

 

The Sensex and the Nifty hit lower circuit limit of 10% in morning trade. The market resumed trading at 10:43 IST for pre-opening session. Normal trading started from 10:58 IST.

India Lockdown:

After an overwhelming response to the Janata Curfew, 22 states in the country have announced a lockdown in 80 districts where Coronavirus cases have been reported so far. The lockdown will be in effect till 31 March 2020. During the lockdown, only essential services will be allowed to operate in all the districts which have reported cases or casualties due to Coronavirus. The lockdown is aimed at preventing a Coronavirus breakout in India.

COVID-19 Crisis:

Coronavirus has infected more than 339,710 people and killed more than 14,704 across the world. More than 99,014 people have recovered. India has reported 8 deaths and over 425 cases so far.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 5.69% to 70.92. The Nifty February 2020 futures were trading at 7,679, a discount of 28.2 points compared with the spot at 7,707.20.-

On the options front, the Nifty option chain for 26 March 2020 expiry showed maximum call open interest (OI) of 20.89 lakh contracts at the 10,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 15.38 lakh contracts was seen at 9,000 strike price.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Eicher Motors tumbled 8.14% to Rs 14,387.20 after the automobile major declared that Royal Enfield has decided to suspend all operations globally from Monday, 23 March 2020 till Tuesday, 31 March 2020, on account of COVID-19 pandemic. The company said operations in manufacturing facilities across Tiruvottiyur, Oragadam and Vallam Vadagal in Chennai, technical centres across Chennai in Tamil Nadu have been closed. Overseas, offices and company owned dealerships in Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire are closed. The company has further issued advisories to all dealerships in India to shut down for the same time period, or follow local administrative orders, as may apply.

Lupin announced the launch of Betamethasone Dipropionate Ointment USP (Augmented), 0.05%, having received an approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) earlier. The product would be manufactured at Lupin's Pithampur (Unit Ill) facility, India. The stock was down 4.65% to Rs 611.75.

Ashok Leyland slumped 15.72% to Rs 37, extending losses for third day. The commercial vehicles maker said its board has decided to acquire a 6.99% stake in Hinduja Leyland Finance (HLFL) as against its original plan to acquire 19%. In the past three sessions, the stock has tumbled 42.5% from its recent closing high of Rs 64.35 recorded on 18 March 2020.

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