Market Wrap, March 6: Sensex tanks 894 pts, Nifty at 10,989

Bears continued to be in the driver's seat on Friday as markets witnessed another bout of across-the-board sell-off due to Coronavirus. Further, YES Bank crisis was another major factor that dragged the markets lower. 

The S&P BSE Sensex tanked 894 points or 2.32 per cent to settle the day at 37,577. During the day, the index hit a low of 37,011 levels. Bajaj Auto emerged as the biggest gainer on the index while Tata Steel (down over 6.5 per cent) was the top loser. 

On NSE, the broader Nifty50 index ended at 10,989, down 279.5 points or 2.48 per cent. 

On a weekly basis, Sensex dropped 1.8 per cent while Nifty lost 1.89 per cent. 

Among individual stocks, YES Bank cracked as much as 85 per cent during the day after RBI suspended the bank's board and placed it under moratorium for 30 days and capped withdrawal limit to Rs 50,000 for the one-month period. The stock eventually settled at Rs 16, down 56 per cent. 

State Bank of India (SBI) closed around 6.5 per cent lower at Rs 270, after it informed that its board has given in-principle approval to consider an “investment opportunity” in YES Bank. In a late night statement on Thursday, SBI, however, said no decision had yet been taken to pick up stake in the bank.  

Besides, other banking stocks, too, tumbled in the trade. The Nifty Bank index ended at 27,781, down over 1,000 points or 3.6 per cent. 

Volatility index India VIX rose around 12 per cent to 25.96 levels. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index declined 343.5 points or over 2 per cent to 14,227 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended at 13,330, down 261.5 points or around 2 per cent.

Global Markets 

Global stock markets tumbled on Friday as disruptions to business from the spreading coronavirus epidemic worsened, stoking fears of a prolonged economic slowdown. 

European shares opened sharply lower, with travel stocks bearing the brunt. The MSCI All-Country World Index, which tracks shares across 47 countries, was down 0.72 per cent.

Earlier in Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 2.1 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei stock index sank 2.94 per cent. Australian shares were down 2.44 per cent. Shares in China fell 1.22 per cent, while stocks in Hong Kong, another city hard hit by the virus, fell 2.12 per cent.

Oil prices also fell due to worries that non-OPEC oil producers might not agree to output cuts even though global energy demand is weakening.


Read by: Sukanya Roy