Sensex plummets over 1,400 points amid spurt in COVID-19 cases
Equity benchmark Sensex tumbled over 1,400 points in the morning session on Monday, dragged by massive losses in financial stocks amid concerns over spiking COVID-19 cases in the country. After touching a low of 48,580.80, the 30-share BSE index was trading 1,254.49 points or 2.51 percent lower at 48,775.34, and the broader NSE Nifty sank 349.40 points or 2.35 percent to 14,517.95.
Who were the top gainers and losers?
IndusInd Bank was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, tanking over six percent, followed by Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, SBI, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, HDFC twins, and Reliance Industries. On the other hand, Infosys, HCL Tech, TCS, and Infosys were the gainers.
Sensex had ended 1.05 percent higher in the previous session
In the previous session on Thursday, Sensex ended 520.68 points or 1.05 percent higher at 50,029.83, and Nifty rose 176.65 points or 1.2 percent to settle at 14,867.35. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 149.41 crore on Thursday, as per exchange data. Financial markets were closed on April 2 for Good Friday.
Banks may see further delay in credit cycle recovery
"Markets opened gap down following strict COVID-19 guidelines issued in Maharashtra with financial and rate-sensitive stocks taking indices down close to 2.5 percent," said S Ranganathan, Head of Research, LKP Securities. Binod Modi, Head of Strategy, Reliance Securities, said, "Banks may see further delay in credit cycle recovery and pressure in asset quality if business restrictions are imposed by more states due to COVID-19."
Brent crude trading at $63.91 per barrel
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Seoul and Tokyo were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals. Markets in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Australia were closed for holidays. Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.46 percent lower at $63.91 per barrel. On the currency front, the Indian rupee was trading 29 paise lower against the US dollar at 73.41.
