Domestic markets suffered heavy losses during a volatile session on Monday as investors anxiously waited for government’s announcement extending the nationwide lockdown due to the rising new cases of the coronavirus.
The Sensex ended down by 469.60 points at 30,0690.02, while the NSE benchmark Nifty closed at 8,993.85, low by 118.05 points.
As the 21-day lockdown period comes to an end on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address the nation on April 14 (Tuesday) in which he is highly likely to extend the shutdown.
Indian markets will remain closed on Tuesday for Ambedkar Jayanti.
Coming back to Monday’s trade, Indian markets also felt the pressure of subdued global equities reeling under the coronavirus crisis.
Bajaj Finance was leading the laggards in the Sensex charts, plummetting over 10 per cent, followed by M&M, Titan, Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank and Tech Mahindra.
On the other hand, gainers were ruled by L&T, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, UltraTech Cements and NTPC.
Sensex heavyweights HDFC twins plunged as much as 3.12 per cent, while Reliance Industries shed 2.46 per cent. ICICI Bank dropped 3.44 per cent.
Sectorally, BSE realty, consumer durables, finance, auto, bankex, energy and FMCG indices fell up to 4.92 per cent.
In contrast, telecom, capital goods, industrials and metal indices rallied up to 4.82 per cent.
In the broader market, BSE midcap and smallcap fell up to 0.93 per cent.
“In Spite of the hope that infections are peaking out in Europe, Indian markets closed negative with virus infections seen to be increasing in some regions of India. The Indian markets are awaiting the decision of the government regarding the current lockdown. Government is expected to announce a plan for a staggered withdrawal from the lockdown,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Any continuation of the lockdown in its current form will put further pressure on economic growth and corporate earnings and will have a negative impact on the markets, he added.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul ended significantly lower. Stock exchanges in Europe remained closed for ‘Easter Monday’.
Meanwhile, the rupee settled for the day on a flat note at 76.27 against the US dollar.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 2.06 per cent to $30.83 per barrel. The commodity had rallied earlier in the day after OPEC producers dominated by Saudi Arabia and allies led by Russia thrashed out a compromise deal on Sunday to cut production by nearly 10 million barrels per day from May.
The death toll due to the novel coronavirus pandemic rose to 308 on Monday after 35 new fatalities were reported, while the number of cases climbed to 9,152, according to the Union Health Ministry.
Global tally of the infections has crossed 18 lakh, with over 1 lakh deaths.