Domestic equity markets witnessed their worst single-day performance on Monday as S&P BSE Sensex tanked more than 3934 points to settle at 25,981 points, while the broader NSE Nifty-50 plunged more than 1,100 points to reach 7610 points. In just the initial minutes of trade S&P BSE SEnsex touched the lower circuit, forcing the market regulator to halt trading for 45-minutes — second time in less than a month. However, the halt in trading failed to revive spirits as markets continued their downward spiral, adding to the losses throughout the day. “The coronavirus interplay with health and markets brought the Dalal street to its knees today as foreign investors raised cash across emerging markets.  The COVID-19 proved to be a 3 in 1 shock across demand, supply and markets as lockdowns and quarantines weighed heavily in financial markets,” said S Ranganathan, Research Head, LKP Securities.

Trading stopped for 45-minutes: India decided to lockdown over 80 districts to curb the spread of the Coronavirus. As businesses closed down temporarily fear among market participants translated to a sell off so harsh that S&P BSE Sensex tanked 10 per cent in the initial hour of trade, falling to 26,924 points which forced the market regulator to halt trading for 45 minutes on the Indian stock exchanges.

Worst ever single-day fall for Sensex: S&P BSE Sensex recorded its worst ever single day fall after closing down by 3,934 points or 13.15 per cent. Earlier on March 12, Sensex crashed 2,912 points to record its worst single-day fall.

All Sectoral Indices deep in red: All sectoral indices ended the day deep in red with Nifty Private Bank being the biggest loser down by 17.05 per cent, followed by Nifty Bank, Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Metal.

S&P cuts India’s growth forcast: Global ratings agency S&P Global added to the fear on markets when it cut India’s growth forcast to 5.2% in the next fiscal, joining a long list of rating agencies to do so. “S&P Global Ratings on Monday cut its estimate for India’s GDP growth for the next fiscal to 5.2% from its earlier estimate of 6.5%, which further worsened the market sentiment that has been already reeling under the corona virus spread. Rising number of corona virus cases is putting pressure on the investors to liquidate their holdings even though they have fallen to the lows of 5 years,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Executive VP, Technical research at Kotak Securities.

India enters lockdown phase: India decided to close over 80 districts as fear of a surge in cases forced state governments to take action. With businesses like Maruti and Bajaj announcing to close manufacturing plants a grim picture is being painted for the economy.

Coronavirus: Ajit Mishra, VP Research, Religare Broking said, “The rising number of cases of Coronavirus has definitely impacted economic activity across the globe. On the domestic front as well, an increase in the number of cases has forced the government to lockdown major cities impacting economic activity.” The total number of cases in India has jumped to more than 410 with 7 deaths being reported.