Markets in freefall: Sensex tanks 1,709 points to close below 29,000

Mumbai, March 18

The Sensex crashed below the 29,000-level while the Nifty dived almost 500 points on Wednesday as the coronavirus pandemic maintained its death grip on markets across the globe.

S&P lowering India’s growth forecast and the Supreme Court’s refusal to provide relief to telecom firms on the AGR issue further sapped risk appetite, traders said.

After swinging over 2,488.72 points in a highly volatile session, the Sensex closed 1,709.58 points lower at 28,869.51. The Sensex has closed below the 29,000-mark for the first time since January 2017. On similar lines, the Nifty plummeted 498.25 points to end at 8,468.80. Barring ONGC and ITC, all Sensex constituents finished in the red.

IndusInd Bank was the top loser, diving 23.90%, followed by PowerGrid (11.29%), Kotak Bank (11.23%), Bajaj Finance (11.11%), HDFC Bank (9.92%) and NTPC (8.08%).

Earlier in the day, S&P Global Ratings lowered India’s economic growth forecast to 5.2% for 2020, saying the global economy is entering a recession amid the coronavirus pandemic. The agency had earlier projected a growth rate of 5.7% during the 2020 calendar year. — PTI

Rs 15.72 lakh cr wiped out in 3 days

• Indian equities declined for the third day in a row on Wednesday, making investors poorer by a whopping Rs15.72 lakh crore in the three-day crash since Monday
• Since Monday, the Sensex has plunged 5,233.97 points to hit a one-year low of 28,613.05 as fears of global recession due to coronavirus pandemic hit investor sentiment
• Barring ONGC and ITC, all 30 Sensex stocks dived. IndusInd Bank, Power Grid Corporation of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance and HDFC Bank were among the major losers, tumbling up to 23.90%