Coronavirus effect: Markets fall as India lockdown keeps D-Street on edge

HIGHLIGHTS

• Indian equity markets on Monday opened in negative territory
• Sentiments remain weak due to the ongoing lockdown in the country
• All sectoral indexes showed signs of weakness as investors’ sentiments remain jittery

Indian equity markets on Monday opened in negative territory as both benchmark indices showed signs of weakness as India entered its second week of lockdown.

At around 9:30 am, BSE Sensex fell was down 839.02 points or 2.81 percent at 28,976.57, while NSE Nifty fell over 200 points or 2 percent at 8,442.05.

While markets crawled back marginally by 9:48 am, Sensex was still down over 550 points. Nifty, however, regained 8,500 points. Even then, volatility remains high given the present global and domestic outlook.

All sectoral indexes showed signs of weakness as investors’ sentiments remain jittery due to subdued business activity due to the lockdown.

Banking stocks showed signs of weakness in early trade after the RBI announced a fresh 75 basis points. Auto stocks also fell as the sector remains worried about the overall economic impact of Covid-19. Top automaker Mahindra & Mahindra slumped over 7 percent.

Not just India but global stocks also showed signs of weakness as stimulus packages announced by central banks and governments around the world failed to cheer up markets.

Asian and US stocks also fell as cases continue to fall due to rising cases around the globe. In the US, the risk seems to be greater at the moment as the death toll has spiked rapidly over the past few days.

India, too, faces a much higher risk rate as the daily increase in confirmed cases has been on the rise for the past week. The sentiment seems to be reflected in the country’s stock market as anxiety grows over the outcome.

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