Begin typing your search...

Coronavirus scare leaves domestic markets in doldrums: Equity investors turn poorer by Rs 11 lakh cr

Spooked by the coronavirus outbreak, domestic markets witnessed another day of carnage on Thursday as equity benchmarks recorded their biggest ever one-day fall and rupee tumbled 60 paise against the US dollar while gold price too slumped.

Coronavirus scare leaves domestic markets in doldrums: Equity investors turn poorer by Rs 11 lakh cr
X

New Delhi

The 30-share BSE Sensex crashed 2,919 points and investor wealth eroded by Rs 11 lakh crore.

As global markets were awash in the red over mounting fears over the coronavirus pandemic, the Sensex closed 2,919.26 points or 8.18 per cent lower at 32,778.14 points.

On heavy dollar demand, the rupee plunged 60 paise to close at a fresh 17-month low of 74.28 against the greenback.

Gold, generally seen as a safe haven, declined Rs 128 to Rs 44,490 per 10 grams in the national capital.

In efforts to soothe the foreign exchange market, the Reserve Bank announced sale of USD 2 billion worth American currency to banks.

The central bank also stressed it is closely and continuously monitoring the rapidly evolving global situation and spillovers.

The level of forex reserves at USD 487.24 billion as on March 6, 2020 remains comfortable to meet any exigency, the central bank added.

As part of its efforts to sooth the forext market, the RBI will undertake 6-month US Dollar sell/buy swaps. The swaps will be conducted through the auction route in multiple tranches. The auctions will be multiple price based -- successful bids will be accepted at their respective quoted premiums.

The carnage on Dalal Street eroded investor wealth worth Rs 11,27,160.65 crore, taking the total market capitalisation (m-cap) to Rs 1,25,86,398.07 crore on the BSE.

Global markets reeled after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, and expressed deep concern over the "alarming levels of inaction".

US President Donald Trump suspended all travel from Europe, excluding the UK, to the US for the next 30 days.

Countries across the world are imposing travel restrictions, fuelling fears of a global recession, analysts said.

All Sensex components ended in the red. SBI was the top loser, crashing  13.23 per cent, followed by ONGC, Axis Bank, ITC, TCS and Titan.

Foreign investors remained net sellers in Indian capital markets for the fourth straight day, pulling out more than Rs 11,000 crore (USD 1.548 billion) on Thursday, market data showed.

FPIs have withdrawn a whopping Rs 33,163 crore (USD 4.46 billion) from Indian capital markets in the current month so far as coronavirus outbreak threatened to derail the global economy.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 5.53 per cent to USD 33.81 per barrel.

Indian basket of crude oil also dropped sharply by nearly 28 per cent to USD 34 per barrel, easing forex outflow concerns due to a weak rupee.

Gold prices on Thursday fell Rs 128 to Rs 44,490 per 10 grams in the national capital though rupee depreciation capped the downside, according to HDFC Securities.

The yellow metal had closed at Rs 44,618 per 10 grams on Wednesday.

Silver also dropped Rs 302 to Rs 46,868 per kg, compared with Rs 47,170 per kg in the previous session.

Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper!

Download the DT Next app for more exciting features!

Click here for iOS

Click here for Android

migrator
Next Story