Sensex tumbles over 500 points in early trade, Nifty slips below 9,200-level; Bajaj Finance top laggard, sheds up to 5%

The benchmark indices opened in the red in the opening session of the stock markets on Friday-24 April. Shares fell over 1 percent tracking weak global markets, after US data underscored the economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic and reports that an experimental drug to treat COVID 19 showed inconclusive results. Sensex tumbled over 500 points in early trade dragged by losses in banking and IT stocks amid weak cues from global markets. After hitting a low of 31,278.27, the 30-share index was trading 534.23 points or 1.68 percent down at 31,328.85. Similarly, the NSE Nifty declined 129.35 points, or 1.39 percent, to 9,184.55. Private-sector lenders ICICI Bank Ltd and Indusind Bank Ltd slid over 4 pecent each and were among the top losers on the Nifty 50 index. Bajaj Finance was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, shedding up to 5 percent, followed by ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC twins, SBI, Infosys and TCS.

#CNBCTV18Market | Financials underperform in the first trade on risk-aversion in corporate bond market pic.twitter.com/xZBq1ejOCD

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 24, 2020

On the other hand, Hero MotoCorp, Sun Pharma, L&T, ONGC and HCL Tech were among the gainers. In the previous session, the BSE barometer surged 483.53 points or 1.54 per cent to close at 31,863.08, and the broader Nifty advanced 126.60 points, or 1.38 per cent, to settle at 9,313.90. Foreign portfolio investors were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday, as they offloaded equity shares worth Rs 114.58 crore, according to provisional exchange data. Domestic market opened on a negative note as global stocks slumped amid projections of severe coronavirus-led blow to the global economy, traders said. The economy is likely to suffer its worst quarter since the mid-1990s due to the lockdown in the three months ending in June, according to a Reuters poll, which predicted a mild and gradual recovery. Fitch Ratings has slashed India’s economic growth projection to 0.8 per cent in the current 2020-21 fiscal, saying an unparalleled global recession was underway due to the COVID-19 crisis. The agency has further made large cuts to global GDP forecasts. Global economic growth is now expected to fall by 3.9 per cent in 2020, a recession of unprecedented depth in the post-war period. This would be twice as severe as the 2009 recession, it noted. Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading with losses in early deals. On Wall Street, key indices closed in the red in overnight session. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures advanced 5.91 per cent to USD 22.59 per barrel. Further, reports on Thursday said a potential antiviral drug flopped in a clinical trial, citing documents published accidentally by the World Health Organisation. In India, the death toll due to the COVID-19 pandemic rose to 718, while the number of cases in the country climbed to 23,077. Global tally of the infections has crossed 27 lakh, with over 1.90 lakh deaths. Rupee falls

#Rupee opens lower Vs Thursday's close pic.twitter.com/V4qgO3StjV

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 24, 2020

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Rupee falls 25 paise to 76.31 against US dollar in early trade.