Market indices Sensex and Nifty dropped majorly by the last hour of trade and closed 2.5% lower on Tuesday, with European indices and US future indices reversing into red territory. Where Sensex tanked 660 points to 30,797, Nifty fell 161 points to trade at 9,035 mark. Where DOW Jones futures gave up all early gains and traded muted, within few minutes of the opening in European markets, FTSE100 fell 3.20%, CAC40 dropped 2.94% and DAX fell 1.18%.
Market indices erased earlier gains and trended bearish by Tuesday’s afternoon session, tracking overseas equity markets that traded cautious as coronavirus infected cases continues to rise globally. On Tuesday, markets traded volatile as investors banked up on hopes of liquidity infusion given by apex lender RBI by late Monday (post market hours), although stayed pessimistic over rising cases of virus.
Overseas, trend has been strongly negative amid the heightened fears of COVID-19 cases. Policymakers worldwide have continued to ensure a globally coordinated response to the coronavirus pandemic by closing borders, banning travel and assuring liquidity infusion into the system, in a move to curb economic fallout from the virus. On Monday, market indices recorded the second biggest single-day fall and ended 8% lower. Where Sensex ended 2,713 points lower at 31,390, Nifty closed 756 points lower at 9,199.
Besides the outbreak in China, the Covid-19 infection cases have risen drastically outside China, hurting major economies and disrupting supply chains. There are currently 182,605 confirmed cases and 7,171 deaths from the coronavirus outbreak as of March 17, 2020. Of this, 79,881 have been recovered globally. The number of infected cases in India has increased to 129. The death toll from coronavirus in India has risen to 3 on Tuesday.
