Equity benchmark indices fell sharply on Thursday morning with the BSE S & P Sensex down by 2,707.39 points (7.58 %) to 32,990.01 while the Nifty 50 dipped by 526 points at 9,932, below the key 10,000-mark for the first time in two years.
Oil also slipped further as Russia and Saudi Arabia increase output and see prices fall. This comes a day after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared coronavirus a global pandemic.
All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were deep in red with Nifty metal down by 7.1 %, PSU bank by 7 per cent, realty by 6.8 % and auto by 5.4 %.
Among stocks, Tata Motors was the top loser after dropping by over 11 per cent at Rs 87.80 per share. Yes Bank and State Bank of India slipped by 9.7 per cent and 7.3 per cent respectively.
Metal stocks suffered heavy losses with Tata Steel down by 9 per cent, Vedanta by 8.7 per cent and JSW Steel by 7.9 per cent. The other prominent losers were Adani Ports, Titan, ONGC and GAIL.
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Meanwhile, global shares crumbled after Trump announced a temporary travel ban from Europe in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Investors worried over more disruptions to businesses and the world economy even as Trump said trade will not be affected by the restrictions.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan lost by 4.1 per cent to its lowest level since early 2019 while Japan’s Nikkei dropped by 5.3 per cent.
South Korea’s Kospi also plummeted by 4.16 per cent, Shanghai Composite declined 0.96 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell by 3.59 per cent.
(With ANI inputs)