Market Wrap, March 16: Sensex tanks 2,713 pts, Nifty ends at 9,199

After a one-day halt, stock market resumed its downward trajectory on Monday following global peers after the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates to near zero on Sunday in another emergency move to help shore up the US economy amid the rapidly spreading global coronavirus pandemic. 

Back home, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), too, is expected to cut rates to fight coronavirus. The central bank is scheduled to hold a press conference later at 4 pm today. 

The S&P BSE Sensex today tumbled 2,713 points or nearly 8 per cent to end the session at 31,390 levels. All the 30 constituents of the index ended in the red. IndusInd Bank bled the most - down 18 per cent to Rs 658, followed by Tata Steel (down over 10 per cent), HDFC (down over 10 per cent), and ICICI Bank (down 10 per cent). 

NSE's frontline index Nifty tanked 756 points or 7.6 per cent to close at 9,199. All the sectoral indices ended with deep cuts. Nifty Bank index tumbled 2,087.50 points or over 8 per cent to 23,079 levels while Nifty Metal cracked 9 per cent to 1,734 levels. Volatility index India VIX rallied 16 per cent to 59.74 levels. 

Market breadth was in favour of declines as out of 1,836 companies traded on the BSE, 1,410 declined and 330 advanced while 96 remained unchanged. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap declined 6 per cent to 11,889 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index lost 666 points or 5.66 per cent to 11,095.

 

New listing

Shares of SBI Cards & Payment Services (SBI Cards) listed at Rs 661, 12.45 per cent below its issue price of Rs 755 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday. On the BSE, it opened at Rs 658, 13 per cent lower against issue price.

However, at 10:09 am, the stock was trading at Rs 751, after hitting a high of Rs 754 on the BSE. A combined around 26 million shares have changed hands on the counter on both the exchanges so far. Stock closed at Rs 683, 9.5% down against the issue price.

 

At 10:34 am, YES Bank was trading at Rs 38.85, up 52 per cent against its previous day’s close of Rs 25.55 on the BSE.YES Bank was the only Nifty stock that ended in the green. The stock advanced 45 per cent to end at Rs 37.05 on the NSE. 
 

Shares of multiplex operators like PVR and Inox Leisure tanked up to 19 per cent on the BSE on Monday after the Maharashtra government on Friday announced that cinema halls will remain closed in major metros till March 31, 2020, as the number of Coronavirus (Covid- 19) cases rose in the state.

Delhi, Kerala and UT of Jammu & Kashmir have also announced cinema theatres to remain closed up to 31 March 2020 amid the outbreak of Covid-19.

Global Markets

Stock markets were routed and the dollar stumbled on Monday after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates in an emergency move and its major peers offered cheap US dollars to ease a ruinous logjam in global lending markets. European shares, too, plunged as the coronavirus pandemic raged through much of Europe, with dramatic monetary easing by global central banks failing to reassure investors about its growing economic damage.

In commodity market, US crude fell below $30 as emergency rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve and its global counterparts failed to tame markets and China’s factory output plunged at the sharpest pace in 30 years amid the spread of coronavirus. Gold prices, too, jumped in trade before paring gains as some investors sold the metal

for cash amid a sell-off in equities.


Read by: Sukanya Roy