Sensex plummets over 2,700 points to close at 31,390, Nifty below 9,200-mark; IndusInd Bank among top losers

The equity indices extended the losses in the afternoon trade as well on Monday tracking a selloff in Asian peers as concerns over the impact of coronavirus pandemic on the world economy continued to to wreak havoc on the markets.

In the mayhem, the Sensex plummeted 2,713.41 points or or 7.96 percent to close at 31,390.07 and the Nifty also tanked 758 points to end at 9,197.40.  lower

Representational image. News18

Dalal Street was buzzing with speculation of an inter-meeting rate cut by the RBI after Governor Shakitkanta Das called a press conference at 4 PM amid widespread calls for a rate cut following similar steps by the world's leading central banks, reported PTI.

All Sensex components ended in the red. IndusInd Bank was the top loser, skidding 17.50 percent, followed by Tata Steel (11.02 percent), HDFC (10.94 percent), Axis Bank (10.38 percent) and ICICI Bank (9.96 percent).

"Easing monetary policy action from central banks across the globe highlights that the impact of coronavirus is worse than thought. Economic, trade and travel shutdown are impacting equities across the globe," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

All sectoral indices closed with losses, with BSE metal, bankex, finance, realty, IT and energy indices dropping up to 9.30 percent.

Broader mid-cap and small-cap indices fell up to 5.94 percent.

According to traders, market became more volatile after the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) surprise press conference announcement.

Many analysts, over the past week, have said the RBI has legroom to cut rates to the tune of 65 bps by June. Some like Barclays and BofA have also spoken about the likelihood of an inter-meeting cut (before the April 3 policy meeting).

Global markets have been roiling in fears of a global economic recession led by restrictions in wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Indian markets opened on the negative side following subdued Asian markets post surprise cut by US Fed on Sunday, said Narendra Solanki, Head- Equity Research (Fundamental), Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers.

Reacting to the shutdown taking place globally due to coronavirus scare, mood of the market remained dampened as credit pressures intensified on India Inc, he added.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai dropped 3.40 percent, Hong Kong 4.03 percent, Seoul 3.19 percent and Tokyo cracked 2.46 percent.

Markets in Europe crashed up to 8 percent in early trade.

Meanwhile, Brent crude oil futures melted 7.53 percent to $31.30 per barrel.

The deadly coronoavirus pandemic has claimed over 6,000 lives and infected more than 1,62,000 people across the globe.

The number of infected cases in the country stood at 110 on Monday, the Union Health Ministry said.

--With PTI inputs