Sensex sinks to 26,193 after opening in the green, Nifty follows down to 7,000 mark

• The BSE Sensex which opened up at 27,410 levels was down to 26,193 points at 9:40 am.
  
• Nifty50 fell from the 8,000 mark to 7,671 points within minutes of opening.
  
• For the second time in three weeks, trading was halted yesterday (March 23) after BSE Sensex and Nifty50 hit its 10% lower circuit.
  

The Indian equity stocks sunk after rebounding during the morning trade, the BSE Sensex which opened up at 27,410 levels was down to 26,193 points. Nifty50 fell from the 8,000 mark to 7,671 points within minutes of opening.

The Singapore Nifty was up by over 300 points, in line with other Asian equity stocks, after the US Fed said to spend whatever it took to stabilise the financial system.

Trading halted for the second time in three weeks

For the second time in three weeks, trading halted yesterday (March 23) after BSE Sensex and Nifty50 hit the 10% lower circuit. Sensex plunged over 2,991 points to 26,924 within an hour of trading. Nifty50 was down by over 842 points to 7,903 points down by 9.63% in early trade

BSE Sensex yesterday (March 23) closed at 26,060 points and Nifty at 7,636, marking the biggest one day fall in Indian equity markets.

However, the meltdown was much expected after the Indian government imposed lockdown in 75 districts to control the fast-spreading Coronavirus (COVID-19).

“The spread of Coronavirus, its impact on the global economy and the response of various nations to deal with it will also be closely watched,” said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

Experts, however, hope for a likely stimulus similar to the ones given by the Trump administration in the US and European nations. They also expect volatility curbing measures to be announced by the regulator SEBI to arrest a major downward spiral.

On Friday, SEBI revealed the measures to contain massive volatility that has plagued the stock markets. These include limits on positions that can be taken up by investors in the F&0 segment, to keep bears from taking over the market.

Furthermore, the regulator set certain conditions under which mutual funds or foreign investors can place bets on the index futures.