Business & Finance

Coronavirus Pandemic Wipes Off Rs 9 Lakh Cr; Sensex Ends 2,900 Pts Down, Nifty Below 9,600

Equity markets went on a free-fall on Thursday as investors pressed and held the ‘sell’ button after WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a “pandemic”.

Mumbai| Indian markets underwent their biggest-ever crash on Thursday over coronavirus with the Sensex crashing more than 2,900 points in closing and the Nifty ending below 9,600-mark.

At closing, the Sensex was down 2,919.26 points or 8.18% at 32,778.14, while Nifty was down 868.25 points or 8.30% at 9,590.15.

The S&P BSE Sensex which ended the session 2,919 points lower at 32,778 dropped as low as 32,493.10, a two-year low. Index-heavyweights HDFC Bank (down 9%), Reliance Industries, and HDFC (down over 7%) contributed the most to the Sensex’s fall. Besides, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, ITC, and ONGC all slid over 13 per cent each.

The broader Nifty50 index opened below the psychological level of 10,000 for the first time since March 26, 2018, and slid as low as 9,508 levels. The index closed the day at a 32-month low level of 9,633, down 825 points, or 7.89 per cent. The index has now entered bear market after falling over 20 per cent from the recent high. All the Nifty sectoral indices hit their 52-week lows during the session. Nifty PSU Bank index, down over 13 per cent, bled the most.

Also Read: Sensex cracks over 300 points; Nifty below 11,700

The volatility index, India VIX, surged 35 per cent to hit a 12-year high of 42.32 levels.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index and the S&P BSE SmallCap indexes were both slumped over 1,100 points each intra-day.
Global stocks slipped into a bear market and oil slumped on Thursday after US President Donald Trump suspended all travel from Europe, excluding the UK, to the US for the next 30 days to stop the spread of the virus., threatening more disruption to the world economy.

The number of coronavirus patients in India has risen to 73 with 13 fresh cases, including nine from Maharashtra and one each from Delhi, Ladakh, and Uttar Pradesh as well as one foreign national, the Union Health Ministry has said.

Covid-19 has claimed over 4,200 lives and infected more than 117,330 people across 107 countries and territories.

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