Domestic markets ended 0.6 per cent lower on Monday dragged down by selling mainly in banking and IT stocks. The Standard and Poor’s warning that the Indian economy is in deep trouble also affected market sentiments.
Last week, the rating agency had stated, “India’s economy is in deep trouble. Difficulties in containing the virus, an anemic policy response, and underlying vulnerabilities, especially across the financial sector, are leading us to expect growth to fall by 5 per cent this fiscal year before rebounding in 2021.”
After plunging 509 points during the day, the 30-share BSE index retrieved to close Monday’s trading at 209.75 points down, or 0.60 per cent, lower at 34,961.52.
Similarly, the NSE Nifty50 ended 70.60 points, or 0.68 per cent, down at 10,312.40.
On the BSE charts, HDFC Bank, HUL, Kotak Bank and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers. Whereas, the laggards were led by Axis Bank, dropping around 5 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, SBI, L&T, IndusInd Bank, Infosys and NTPC.
According to Narendra Solanki, Head- Equity Research (Fundamental), Anand Rathi, market opened on a negative note tracking subdued trades in Asian markets as global coronavirus death toll crosses 5,00,000 as investors continued to monitor developments amid concerns that a surge in cases could impact the reopening of economies.
During the afternoon session, market recovered marginally but failed to sustain the gains as European markets opened lacklustre which further weighed on already negative sentiments, he added.
Further, tension between India-China and US-China trade tiff also kept participants on edge, traders said.
Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Japan and Seoul ended with significant losses, while those in Europe opened with mild gains.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.34 per cent to USD 40.79 per barrel.
On the currency front, the rupee settled 7 paise higher at 75.58 against the US dollar.