Market Wrap, Feb 24: Sensex plunges 807 pts, Nifty lost 251 points

Fears that the coronavirus outbreak in China will grow into a pandemic with disruptive and deadly consequences for countries across the globe spooked equity market on Monday. The virus, that has killed 2,442 people in China, has spread to 28 other countries and territories, with a death toll of around two dozen.

As a result, the S&P BSE Sensex plunged 807 points or nearly 2 per cent to settle at 40,363 with alll the 30 components of the index ending in the red. Tata Steel (down over 6 per cent) bled the most, followed by ONGC (down nearly 5 per cent) and Maruti (down over 4 per cent).

On the NSE, the benchmark Nifty lost 251 points or over 2 per cent to end the session at 11,829 levels. 

Volatility index India VIX jumped 26 per cent to 17.21 levels.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Metal cracked the most - over 5 per cent to 2,472. Pharma and PSU banks were next on the list. 

In the broader market, Nifty Midcap 100 ended at 17,764, down 346 points or around 2 per cent and the Nifty SmallCap 100 index skid around 2 per cent to 6,044.

Shares of Max Financial Services rallied 5 per cent to Rs 595 on the BSE on Monday after the company on Thursday entered into an exclusivity deal with Axis Bank, wherein the lender will have a long-term bancassurance partnership with Max Life Insurance Company.

Shares of Aurobindo Pharma slipped 17 per cent at Rs 498 on the BSE on Monday after in a surprise development, the US drug regulator FDA revoked the ‘Voluntary Action Initiated’ status issued to company’s plant in Hyderabad, days after indicating it might not pursue further regulatory action.


GLOBAL MARKETS

Global shares and oil slid on Monday while safe-haven gold surged as the spread of the coronavirus outside China darkened the outlook for world growth with infections and deaths rising in South Korea, Italy and the Middle East. 

US stock futures were dumped with E-minis for the S&P500 falling 1.4 per cent while Nikkei futures stumbled 2.7 per cent. EuroStoxx 50 futures declined about 2 per cent while futures for London’s FTSE skidded 1.3 per cent. Asian share indexes were also a sea of red.

In commodities, oil prices tumbled by more than 3 per cent. 

Read by: Sukanya Roy