The benchmark equity indices on the BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE) extended their losses after resuming trade during the morning trade on Monday. Earlier in the day, both the topline indices had slipped to their respective 10 percent lows which triggering a circuit breaker, following which the trade was suspended for a period of 45 minutes. This is the second time during this month that trading was halted because of fears over the spread of coronavirus which has threatened to bring world economies to a halt. The Indian rupee, too, slipped further by 92 paise against the US dollar to 76.12.
Sensex Tanks Over 2,800 Points, Rupee Falls Further Against USD
By 9.30 AM, Sensex was sinking over by 2,718 points with the BSE barometer trading 2,430.57 points or 8.12 percent lower at 27,485.39. The NSE Nifty was also trading at a similar low of 682.35 points, or 7.80 percent, down at 8,063.10. All major Sensex components were trading in the red, with Bajaj Finance tanking up to 14 percent, followed by Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, Maruti, and M&M. Trading stopped just 45 minutes into the day.
In last week’s closing session on Friday, equity markets witnessed a relief rally after four days of fall. The BSE benchmark ended 1,627.73 points or 5.75 percent higher at 29,915.96. The Nifty zoomed 482 points, or 5.83 percent, to close at 8,745.45. During the last trading week, the Sensex had plummeted 4,187.52 points or 12.27 percent, while the Nifty sank 1,209.75 points or 12.15 percent.
The extreme lockdown measures taken by the central and state governments in India and the world have put immense pressure on investor sentiment. Forex traders said that market participants are concerned that the sharp rise in coronavirus cases, with nearly 400 cases in the country, could weigh on the economy.
