The market continued to plunge with the Sensex nosediving 2431 points at 33,265.41. The Nifty was trading below the 10,000-mark at 9,810.30 around 11 AM.
Investor wealth worth over Rs 8 lakh crore was wiped off in early trade on Thursday as equity markets crashed amid global equity selloff after World Health Organization termed the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.
Indices fell sharply on Dalal Street in the opening session on Thursday. The Sensex plummetted 1,821.27 pts to 33,876.13 in opening session; Nifty plunged 470.35 points to 9,988.05.
After opening 34,472.50 points, Sensex dropped to 33,876.13. Meanwhile, Nifty tanked 470.35 pts to 9,988.05. Tata Steel, ONGC, State Bank of India (SBI) shares dipped over 8 percent while Reliance Industries fell over 7 percent. Global shares too crumbled after US President Donald Trump said America will suspend all travel from Europe as he unveiled measures to contain the coronavirus epidemic that has resulted in a heavy human and economic toll worldwide.
Sensex breached 34,000 level and slipped to the 17 months low on 12 March. All the Sensex stocks are trading in the red. Tata Motors was 11.11 percent down ,Tata Steel 8.35 percent, ONGC 7.89 pecent, SBI 7.08 percent and Axis Bank was down 6.91 percent.
According to traders, volatility peaked in global markets after WHO’s announcement describing the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic. Besides selloff in global equities, massive plunge in international oil prices and depreciating rupee added to investor concerns, they added. Incessant foreign fund outflow also spooked market participants, traders said. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai dropped over 1.34 percent, Hong Kong 3.66 percent, Seoul 4.29 percent and Tokyo cracked up to 5.32 percent.
The Indian rupee plunged 82 paise to 74.50 against US dollar in opening trade on Thursday after the World Health Organization declared the new coronavirus (COVID-19) a pandemic.
Forex traders said market participants turned jittery amid mounting fears of a coronavirus-led economic slowdown. Weak opening in domestic equities and foreign fund outflows too dragged the local unit, they added. The rupee opened at 74.25 at the interbank forex market and then fell further to 74.50, down 82 paise over its last close.
