Sensex tanks 2,700 points and Nifty loses 750 as a possible rate fails to raise spirits

• The BSE Sensex tanks 8% or over 2700 pts and Nifty was down by 750 points
  
  
• The decline in Indian stock markets was in line with the freefall in Asian and European indices
  
  
• During the meeting today at 4pm , the central bank is expected to cut rates and announce measures to boost sentiment.
  
  

BSE Sensex tanked 8% or over 2700 points today and NIfty was down by 750 points. This is in spite of rumours that RBI will announce an interest rate cut at its press conference today at 4 pm. However, both the news of Fed cutting interest rates to zero and RBI’s possible announcement did nothing to warm the sentiment of investors. The number of Coronavirus cases went up to 116 as of now and Maharashtra is the worst affected with 37 where the epidemic is spreading far and wide.

Thanks to more bad news, stock markets opened in the red and tanked in the afternoon. At 3.25 pm, Sensex was trading at 31,386.08, and Nifty was at 9,199 points.

The decline in Indian stock markets was in line with the freefall in Asian and European indices, despite the second emergency rate cut announced by the US Federal Reserve.

The top losers on the Sensex were IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel and Tech Mahindra.

Amid the melee, Yes Bank stock which was hammered down for the last few weeks, went up by a massive 46% to Rs 37.35 in the afternoon. This was after Federal Bank announced that it would invest Rs 300 crore in the troubled bank. Added to that, the government said that a moratorium on bank withdrawals will be lifted by Wednesday (March 19). However, the market regulator curbed the party saying that investors can sell only 25% of their holdings in this extremely volatile stock.

During the last trade on Friday (March 13), trading was halted for 45 mins as a result of the first-ever circuit breaker in the last 12 years. However, the markets rebounded, registering the biggest ever recovery in the Indian stock markets.

IANS reported that the market observers predict a temporary bounce back in the key Indian stock indices — S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty50— as they might get a reprieve from the massive bouts of volatility that have been witnessed lately.

The two key indices had witnessed heavy sell-off last week due to the global outbreak of Coronavirus and its impact on the world economy.

"However for a sustained rise, we will need more confirmation of the scare reducing drastically and economies getting back on their feet," said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research, HDFC Securities told IANS.

The Indian currency was trading at 74.20 against a US dollar. Last week, Rupee touched a new low after the value downgraded to 73 against the dollar.

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