Sensex crashes 1,375 points, Nifty 379.15 points; Markets grim as Covid-19 cases spike

The BSE Sensex crashed over 1,375 points on Monday, pressured by heavy selling in banking, finance and auto counters, as sentiment remained grim amid a steady rise in coronavirus cases.

The number of Covid-19 cases in India shot past the 1,000-mark on Monday, with the death toll rising to 29.

Investors dumped risky assets after multiple ratings agencies cut India's growth outlook, traders said.

After plunging over 1,500 points during the day, the 30-share BSE barometer ended 1,375.27 points or 4.61 per cent lower at 28,440.32.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty fell 379.15 points, or 4.38 per cent, to close at 8,281.10.

Bajaj Finance was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, tanking nearly 12 per cent, followed by HDFC, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, ICICI bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Maruti, which shed up to 10.92 per cent.

Only six Sensex constituents ended in the green, led by Tech Mahindra (4.94 per cent), Nestle (4.49 per cent), Axis Bank (2.50 per cent) and HUL (2.19 per cent).

"Indian markets started the week on a negative note tracking volatile global cues in Asian markets as coronavirus-fuelled volatility gripped global equities and other financial markets, with oil prices seen plunging," said Narendra Solanki, Head- Equity Research (Fundamental), Anand Rathi.

Fitch Solutions slashed its estimate for India's GDP growth in the fiscal starting April 1 to 4.6 per cent due to weaker private consumption and contraction in investment amid the coronavirus outbreak, costing economies around the globe.

India Ratings and Research too revised its FY21 GDP growth forecast down to 3.6 per cent from 5.5 per cent.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had on Friday said the world has entered a recession as bad or worse than in 2009.

"As expected, the markets have set aside the stimulus measures announced by the RBI and the government, and focused on the rising virus infections and its impact on the Indian economy.

"With a global recession already declared by the IMF, the recessionary forces and the general uncertainty are forcing investors, especially the FIIs, to redeem their investments. CPI for Industrial workers is due tomorrow, although it is unlikely to have an effect in the current market scenario," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

BSE realty, finance, bankex, auto and telecom indices tumbled up to 7.01 per cent, while healthcare and FMCG ended with gains.

Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices fell up to 2.13 per cent.

Global equities notched up losses as investors assessed the economic damage from the virus pandemic.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended in the red. Benchmarks in Europe were also trading on a negative note.

International oil benchmark Brent crude fell 4.47 per cent to USD 26.70 per barrel in futures trade.

On the currency front, the rupee depreciated 65 paise to 75.54 against the US dollar in intra-day trade.

Deaths around the world linked to the Covid-19 pandemic crossed 30,000 over the weekend.