Global equity markets continued to be in turmoil on Monday on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, even as the Indian benchmarks registered their second biggest single-day fall in absolute points and fell to their lowest level since September 2017.
Investors’ wealth eroded by ₹7.62 lakh crore, with the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies dropping by ₹7,62,290.23 crore to ₹1,21,63,952.59 crore at the close of trade.
The 30-share Sensex lost a whopping 2,713.41 points, or 7.96%, to close at 31,390.07. The Sensex has now lost 10,884 points or nearly 26% from its record high of 42,274 touched in January.
The broader Nifty plunged 757.80 points, or 7.61%, to close at 9,197.40. The India VIX index spiked over 14% on Monday.
This was the second biggest single-day fall for the indices, having recorded their worst fall on March 12. More importantly, market participants believe that there still exists uncertainty as to whether the markets have reached their bottom given that concerns around the pandemic are far from over.
“The equity market will bottom out once the infection numbers peak and start to recede... and then bottom-fishing opportunities could open up, but that is possible after clarity emerges in the next few months with respect to an effective cure for the disease or the effectiveness of strong policy actions,” global financial major Credit Suisse said in its latest India strategy report.
Monday saw leading Asian benchmarks such as Nikkei, Hang Seng and Kospi losing heavy ground as the virus outbreak threatens to impact global economic activity.
On the BSE, more than 2,000 stocks declined on Monday, as against only around 411 gainers. Provisional numbers showed that foreign investors were net sellers at ₹3,809 crore on Monday. In the Sensex pack, stocks such as Infosys, Axis Bank, HDFC, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, ITC and IndusInd Bank all lost more than 9% on Monday.
