Sensex, Nifty open on a choppy note amid global fears of lockdown

• The 30-share index Sensex was trading 589 points, or 1.98%, lower at 29,226 points and the NSE Nifty slipped 274 points, or 3.17%, to 8,385 levels.
  
• The Chinese exchange, Shanghai Composite, was down by 1.54%, the Japanese Nikkei was down by 3.23%, and the Hong Kong-based Hang Seng was down by 1.49%, today (March 30).
  
• IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, M&M were the top losers on Nifty at 09:15 am.
  

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty opened on a choppy note on Monday amid the mounting fears of global economic fallout after shutdown for the coronavirus. The 30-share index Sensex was trading 589 points lower at 29,226.55 levels, and the NSE Nifty slipped 274points, or 3.17%, to 8,385 points.

Top Losers on March 30

Last week, stock markets saw mixed reactions and the week closed with losses of 100.37 points on BSE SENSEX or 0.34% at 29.815.59 points. Nifty closed with losses of 85.20 points or 0.97% at 8,660.25 points.

The broader indices BSE100, BSE200 and BSE500 lost 1.52%, 1.92% and 2.23% respectively. BSE MIDCAP was down 5.42% while BSE SMALLCAP was down 6.09%.

Last week, Indian government announced a ₹1.75 lakh crore ($22 billion) package that will provide sustenance to the poorest of the poor. Added to that, the Indian Central Bank RBI announced an unseasonal interest rate cut and injected ₹3.74 lakh crore via multiple announcements on Friday (March 27).

However, this wasn’t unprecedented. The mood in the rest of Asia today(March 30) was quite cautious as well. The Chinese exchange, Shanghai Composite, was down by 1.54%, the Japanese Nikkei was down by 3.23%, and the Hong Kong-based Hang Seng was down by 1.49%. The Singapore exchange SGX Nifty also opened in red and fell by 1.77% in minutes of trading.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 915.39 points, or 4.06%, to 21,636.78. The S&P 500 decreased 88.60 points, or 3.37%, to 2,541.47. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 295.16 points, or 3.79%, to 7,502.38.

Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors traded lower, with energy down 6.93%, becoming the worst-performing group. Utilities climbed 0.53%, the only gainer among the sectors.

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