Markets close in red: Sensex tanks 1,011 points to end at 30,636.71, Nifty plunges 280 points to 8,981; banking, IT, auto shares plunge

Bears once again gripped the market after many session of positive trade, dented by negative development in oil market as the WTI May futures declined to negative territory in the first time of history as the world is going out of storage capacity and the sellers are paying money to buyers to purchase oil from them. In line with the global indices, the domestic market opened a gap down and ended with losses of 3.2 percent. Woes over the crude oil market weighed heavily on optimism of peaking coronavirus cases in the US and other European nations. With the global economy in a complete standstill, there is no demand for new oil. After hitting a low of 30,378.26, the 30-share index ended 1,011.29 points or 3.20 percent lower at 30,636.71. Similarly, the NSE Nifty plummeted 280.40 points, or 3.03 percent, to 8,981.45. There were heavy losses in banking, IT and auto counters as historic oil plunge brought more unease into markets already reeling from coronavirus crisis. Sectorally, barring pharma, all indices ended deep in red. On stocks specific movement, DRL, Bharti Airtel and Heromoto Motocorp were the top gainers in today’s session. also showed smart recovery from day low during the session. In the coming few sessions, investors will keep a close eye on the crude market development. Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director, Choice Broking said: “Nifty has given a close at 8,981-level with the loss of 280 points due to losses in major private banks and NBFCs which weighed down the sentiment. Moreover, the way sentiment is turning down due to the rises in the cases of COVID-19, may also affect the Market in upcoming trading sessions. No doubts the central government is doing well to cope up with the ongoing pandemic situation but the lockdown situation may hit the Indian economy than the virus itself. “At present level, the Nifty has strong support at 8,880 to 8,800 level while upside resistance comes at 9,130 to 9,300. While for BankNifty, it seems that the Index may trade between the range of 17500 to 21500 unless and until we get the either side breakout. [caption id=“attachment_6956291” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] IndusInd Bank was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, sinking over 12 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, M&M, Tata Steel, ONGC and Maruti. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Hero MotoCorp and Nestle India were the gainers Indian equity markets followed weak global cues and ended lower on Tuesday after a feeble recovery from intra day lows. The NSE Nifty 50 index ended below the 9,000 mark at 8,981, down 3 percent, said Deepak Jasani, Head Of Research, HDFC Securities. “Global stocks fell following negative crude oil prices adding one more fear dimension to dismal corporate earnings reports and global economic damage. Indian markets fell more than the global peers as financial and other old economy stocks (including Auto, Metals etc) came under selling pressure following weak expectations from brokerage houses. “Technically the Nifty has closed below the psychological level of 9000. 8821 is the next crucial support and if it gets breached, a sharper fall could ensue. On upsides 9091 could offer resistance,” he said. According to traders, domestic market plunged following selloff in global equities as rout in crude market hit investor sentiment world over. US benchmark oil West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for May delivery recovered to $1.10 a barrel. With space to store oil scarce, WTI for May delivery plunged to – $37.63 a barrel ahead of Tuesday’s close for futures contracts – when traders who buy and sell the commodity for profit would have had to take physical posession of it. Brent crude contracts for June delivery was trading 20.30 percent lower at $20.38 per barrel. On Wall Street, stocks crashed after US oil prices turned negative on Monday for the first time ever. Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended with significant losses. Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading up to 2 per cent lower. Further, concerns over mounting COVID-19 cases also kept investors jittery, traders said. The death toll due to the pandemic rose to 590, while the number of cases in the country climbed to 18,601. Rupee settles 30 paise lower at 76.83 against US dollar The Indian rupee settled for the day lower by 30 paise at 76.83 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, tracking weak domestic equities and strengthening of the US dollar overseas. Forex traders said the decline in the rupee was largely due to sharp drop in oil prices and stronger greenback which edged higher past the 100-level mark.

#Rupee ends at record closing low of 76.8350 a dollar https://t.co/8vTrrQejhx

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 21, 2020

The rupee opened weak at 76.79 at the interbank forex market and during the day lost further ground and finally settled at 76.83, down 30 paise over its last close. The rupee had settled at 76.53 against the US dollar on Monday. During the session, the rupee witnessed high volatility and touched a high of 76.62 and a low of 76.84 against the US dollar. WTI crude oil futures collapsed to negative; while Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 14.47 per cent to USD 21.87 per barrel. Domestic bourses were trading on a negative note on Tuesday. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.25 per cent to 100.20.