Equity benchmark Sensex tumbled over 400 points in early trade on Friday led by losses in banking and auto stocks as investor sentiment continued to be weighed down by the uncertainty over the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact.
After hitting a low of 27,800.07, the 30-share BSE barometer was trading 375.34 points or 1.33 per cent lower at 27,889.97.
Similarly, the NSE Nifty fell 105.35 points, or 1.28 per cent, to 8,148.45.
Kotak Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, cracking up to 7 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Asian Paints, Titan and ICICI Bank.
On the other hand, PowerGrid, ONGC, HCL Tech and Sun Pharma were the gainers.
In the previous session on Wednesday, the 30-share BSE barometer Sensex slumped 1,203.18 points or 4.08 per cent to finish at 28,265.31. Similarly, the NSE Nifty tanked 343.95 points, or 4 per cent, to close at 8,253.80.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market, as they offloaded equity shares worth Rs 1,116.79 crore on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data.
Market was closed on Thursday on account of Ram Navami’.
With fresh cases of novel coronavirus mounting by the day, concerns over a looming economic recession are keeping investors on edge, traders said.
The number of COVID-19 cases in India has stood at over 2,500, according to health ministry log.
Global tally of the infections has crossed one million, with over 53,000 deaths.
On the global front, bourses in Shanghai and Hong Kong were in the red, while those in Tokyo and Seoul were trading on a positive note.
Benchmark exchanges on Wall Street ended significantly higher in overnight trade.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee depreciated 47 paise to 76.07 against the US dollar in morning trade.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 3.44 per cent to USD 28.91 per barrel.
Oil futures had rocketed over 30 percent Thursday after US President Donald Trump tweeted that he expected Russia and Saudi Arabia to end a price war by slashing crude output.
Rupee slips 48 paise to 76.08 against US dollar in early trade amid coronavirus scare
The Indian rupee fell 48 paise to 76.08 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday, as investors braced for a prolonged period of uncertainty as coronavirus cases witnessed a sharp rise across the world and in India.
Forex traders said weak opening in domestic equities dragged the local unit amid mounting fears of a coronavirus-led economic slowdown.
The rupee opened weak at 75.97 at the interbank forex market and then fell further to 76.08, down 48 paise over its last close.
The rupee had settled at 75.60 against the US dollar on Tuesday.
Forex markets in India were closed on April 1 for the annual closing of banks and on April 2 on account of Ram Navami.
According to Reliance Securities “rising coronavirus cases in India and globally could also weigh on sentiments as investors could continue to buy the safe haven Dollars”.
There are more than one million declared cases of coronavirus worldwide and in India, the tally of confirmed coronavirus cases has crossed the 2,000-mark.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 3.24 per cent to USD 28.97 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, as they sold shares worth Rs 1,116.79 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data.
Domestic bourses opened on a negative note with benchmark indices Sensex trading 353.48 points down at 27,911.83 and Nifty down 118.25 points at 8,135.55.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.03 per cent to 100.20.
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