Sensex, Nifty witness massive recovery, taste green

Top Stories

India, Nifty, NSE Nifty 50 index

RBI said it will take all necessary measures to ensure that markets remain stable, and continue to function normally.

By Reuters, IANS

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Published: Fri 13 Mar 2020, 7:05 AM

Last updated: Fri 13 Mar 2020, 4:39 PM

Registering the biggest ever recovery in the Indian stock markets, the Sensex and Nifty rose over 3 per cent on Friday afternoon.
At 1 pm, the Sensex was trading 1,135.10 points or 3.46 per cent higher at 33,913.24 from its previous close of 32,778.14.

It recovered over 4,500 points from its day's low to touch an intra-day high of 33,917.47. It had touched intra-day low of 29,388.97 during the initial trade.

The Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange was trading at 9,890, higher by 299.85 points or 3.13 per cent from its previous close.

According to analysts, investors are carrying on lower level buying, which has supported the stocks.

The markets have gained as the trade resumed around 10.20 a.m. after a 45 minutes halt as both the indices touched their 10 per cent lower circuit during the initial trade.

Sensex fell over 3,000 points to trade at below the 30,000 mark. It was at 29,687.52, lower by 3,090.62 points or 9.43 per cent when trade was halted.

Nifty50 touched the lower circuit of 10 per cent and was at 8,624.05 points much below the psychological mark of 9,000 points, when trade was shut temporarily.

The domestic exchanges are in line with the Asian markets which are also trading in the red. On Thursday, the US indices, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P500 hit the lower circuit of 7 per cent.

The Indian stock market entered the bear zone on Thursday as the indices fell over 22 per cent from their all-time highs.

The concerns of the coronavirus outbreak severely impairing the global economy have only risen after the World Health Organization on Wednesday declared the disease as a global pandemic.

India recorded its first death due to the infection on Thursday evening.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it is closely monitoring the global situation and will take all necessary measures to ensure that markets remain adequately liquid and stable, and continue to function normally.
"The Reserve Bank of India is closely and continuously monitoring the rapidly evolving global situation and will take all necessary measures to ensure that money, debt and forex markets remain adequately liquid and stable, and continue to function normally," it said in a release.
The rupee, which earlier fell to a record low of 74.508 against the dollar, reversed losses to trade 0.48 per cent stronger at 73.985.

Wall Street dazed after worst day since 1987

As trading ended on Thursday in Wall Street's worst day for three decades, shell-shocked investors had no idea how much further the market was likely to fall as the coronavirus pandemic spread fear of a global recession.

A 16-day drop of almost 27 per cent in the S&P 500 has left portfolios in tatters. The suspension of professional sports games, canceled conventions and half-empty restaurants has raised fears - not about whether the longest US economic expansion on record is ending - but about how deep a now presumed recession will be.

"This was worse than any day in 2008. It was worse than Sept. 11. I started in 1993 and this was the most panicked market I've ever seen," said Christopher Stanton, chief investment officer at Sunrise Capital Partners LLC in San Diego. "People are just trading on conjectures stacked on additional conjectures."
Drops of 10 per cent in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and 9.5% in the S&P 500 were the worst for both since 1987. On Oct. 19, 1987, now known as "Black Monday," the Dow crashed
22.6 per cent in its biggest ever-single day decline.

Wall Street's most recent selloff comes as countries around the world grapple with how to contain the fast-moving coronavirus and its economic effects.

The velocity and depth of the drop has shocked investors accustomed to a decade of gains on Wall Street that were interrupted by only a handful of corrections.

"Fear of missing out has turned into fear of the unknown," lamented John McClain, fixed income portfolio manager at Diamond Hill Capital Management, in Columbus, Ohio. "We haven't seen a situation like this before."

The S&P 500's rout has left it trading at under 16 times expected earnings, its lowest level since early 2019, according to Refinitiv Datastream. But that figure offers little confidence because earnings estimates for companies are likely to fall as corporations provide more details about how badly they have been hurt by the virus that broke out in China late last year and has now spread across the globe.

"With a recession all but guaranteed at this point and the S&P 500 entering bear market territory today, one question worth asking is, how much is priced in?," Bespoke Investment Group wrote in a research note.

Reflecting that uncertainty, the Cboe Volatility Index , known as Wall Street's "fear gauge," jumped on Thursday in its biggest-ever one-day surge.

"This is not an economic problem - there are ramifications of it that are economic - but the problem is this virus and the panic it is causing," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York. "Is the panic overdone? I would say it is definitely overdone, but that doesn't stop people from being freaked out."

That panic spread beyond stocks, with demand for dollars via the currency derivative market surging to its highest level for years in a sign that coronavirus-induced economic stress is starting to manifest itself in a broad scramble for greenback funding.

Among the victims of Wall Street's implosion is U.S. President Donald Trump, who touted a stunning run-up in the stock market as evidence of his success in the White House. Most of those gains have now evaporated.

Investors are also becoming increasingly concerned that the coronavirus outbreak will hit US corporate cash flow if it keeps workers at home or prevents companies from paying employees. Bond funds have taken a hit and companies including Boeing are drawing on credit lines.

Traders expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates again aggressively at its policy meeting next week to counter the coronavirus. That followed the Fed's surprise 50 basis rate cut last week, which failed to stabilize markets.

"We have to see coordinated fiscal and monetary policy, as well as government," said McClain. "People need to know there's a plan in place. This isn't Twitter. You have got to have details."



More news from