Yes Bank crisis and coronavirus plunges Rupee to a 17-month low

• Indian currency is currently trading at 73.90 against the dollar.
  
  
• It has slipped to this low for the first time since October 2018.
  
  
• The slump in the rupee could be because of the RBI placing Yes Bank under moratorium.
  

The Indian Rupee slipped to 74 against the dollar in early morning trade as the Indian banking sector went into a crisis mode after Yes Bank was taken over by the RBI.

Today’s 65 paise slip is the sharpest fall that Rupee has seen for the first time since its October 2018 lows.

Indian currency opened at 73.90 and and at 9.50 am, according to the forex chart. The one-month Rupee futures weakened for the seventh session to hit a low of 74.65 a dollar.

As the Indian central bank placed withdrawal limits for Yes Bank customers, Indian equity markets too slumped almost by 3% on Friday morning (March 6).

Banking and finance stocks led the slump in equity markets after RBI, India’s central bank placed Yes Bank under moratorium.

BSE Sensex was down by 1,093.95 points or 2.84% from the previous close of 38,470.61 on March 5. NSE’s Nifty50 was trading at 10,938.75, down by 330.25 or 2.93% from its previous close. The stock markets have already been taking a beating for the last few weeks, thanks to the rapid spread of coronavirus and its effect on global and local trade.

The foreign indices also fell over 3% in the last trade. Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 189 points. S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 also declined by around 3% at the close on Thursday (March 5).

The current number of coronavirus confirmed cases in India rose to 30 after yet another man in Ghaziabad tested positive. Indian health minister Harsh Vardhan has assured that they are “thoroughly prepared” to fight the coronavirus.