Domestic stock markets started the week on a lower note tracking a renewed selloff in global peers as the number of coronavirus cases increased around the globe. The S&P BSE Sensex index opened 589.04 points lower at 29,226.55, and dropped to as low as 28,708.83 – down 1,106.76 points from the previous close – in the morning deals, before recovering half of those losses. The broader NSE Nifty benchmark declined as much as 326.65 points to hit 8,333.60 at the weakest level in morning, after starting the day down 274.3 points at 8,385.95. Losses in financial, automobile and metal stocks pulled the markets lower, but gains in consumer goods, IT and pharma shares limited the downside.
At 10:26 am, the Sensex traded 576.64 points – or 1.93 per cent – lower at 29,238.95, while the Nifty was down 151.00 points – or 1.74 per cent – at 8,509.25.
In the Nifty basket of 50 components, thirty six stocks moved lower at the time. Top percentage laggards were Bajaj Finance, JSW Steel, Eicher Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC and Tata Steel, down between 4.40 per cent and 8.23 per cent.
On the other hand, Zee Entertainment, Cipla, Tech Mahindra, Dr Reddy’s and Axis Bank – up between 2.95 per cent and 4.88 per cent – were the gainers in the benchmark index.
HDFC (down 4.67 per cent), HDFC Bank (3.74 per cent) and ICICI Bank (2.91 per cent) together accounted for a decline of more than 300 points in the Sensex.
Analysts expect volatility to persist in the markets in the near term as investors assess the impact of the coronavirus-induced lockdown on the economy. Positive coronavirus cases rose above 1,000 in India as of Sunday evening, government data showed, while the total number of deaths touched 27.On Friday, the S&P BSE Sensex index had declined 131.18 points (0.44 per cent) at 29,815.59 and the broader NSE Nifty benchmark settled at 8,660.25, down 18.80 points (0.22 per cent) from the previous close, as the markets lost steam following three days of gains.
Equity markets elsewhere in Asia suffered sharp losses. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was last seen trading 1.93 per cent lower, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmark was down 3.23 per cent.
Crude oil benchmarks extended last week’s losses, due to the worsening coronavirus pandemic and continuation of the Saudi Arabia-Russia price war. Brent futures – the global benchmark for crude oil rates – were last seen trading 5.6 per cent lower at $23.53 per barrel.
On Friday, US markets succumbed to losses, halting their best three-day bounce in almost a century as the number of cases across the country skyrocketed. Doubts about the fate of the US economy resurfaced and the number of coronavirus cases in the country climbed.
The Dow Jones slumped 4.06 per cent, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite benchmarks fell 3.37 per cent and 3.79 per cent respectively.
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