Sensex Plunges 1,300 Points, Nifty Slides Below 11,000 Amid Coronavirus Fears
The BSE Sensex was at 37,180, weaker by 1,300 points and the SGX Nifty was at 10,881, down 385 points.
The stock markets have plunged at opening bell, in line with the sell-off witnessed across the world, as the spread of coronavirus across the world is stoking fears of a prolonged global economic slowdown. The BSE Sensex was at 37,180, weaker by 1,300 points and the SGX Nifty was at 10,881, down 385 points in early trades. The broader markets also succumbed to panic selling, with BSE Midcap index osendiving by 568 points or 3.9 per cent to 14002 and the BSE Smallcap index losing 426 points or 3.1 per cent to 13,164. All the BSE sectoral indices are trading in the red.
The coronavirus is showing no signs of abating, with a whooping 95,000 people being diagnosed with the fatal condition in more than 60 countries across all continents, except Antarctica, and thirty people being tested positive so far in India.
Asian shares had also fallen across the board this morning; MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.5 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei index slid 1.4 per cent. Hang Seng, Straits Times, SET Composite and Jakarta indices also shaved off between 1 and 3 per cent each.
The US stocks had tumbled overnight, with shares of banks and travel companies taking a beating, as a new wave of fear about the spread of the coronavirus and its economic impact gripped investors. The Dow Jones fell 969 points or 3.5 per cent to 26,121 and Nasdaq Composite dropped 279 points or 3.1 per cent to 8,738.
The equity benchmarks back home closed with modest gains on March 5 as fears over coronavirus cases and its economic fallout continued weighing on sentiment. The S&P BSE Sensex had ended 61 points higher at 38,471 and Nifty 50 index advanced 18 points to close at 11,269.
