Closing bell: Indian shares sank on Monday as the U.S. Federal Reserve's emergency move to cut rates back to near zero and disappointing economic data out of China spooked investors about the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on global growth.

The surprise rate cut on Sunday by the Fed and its measures to ensure liquidity in dollar lending ahead of a scheduled meeting that had been set for Tuesday and Wednesday sent U.S stock index futures tumbling to their daily down limit.

The NSE Nifty 50 index slid 7.68 per cent to 9,199.10 at the close, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex dropped 7.96 per cent to 31,390.07.

India's volatility index rose by more than 16 per cent.

Yes Bank Ltd was the only stock ended in positive territory, surging 45 per cent to close at Rs 37.05.

The Sensex hit an intraday high of 33,103.24 and a low of 31,276.30. Similarly, the Nifty touched an intraday high of 9,602.20 and a low of 9,165.10. The market breadth was negative as 2,014 shares declined, against advance of 443 shares, while 161 shares were unchanged.

All the sectoral indices ended in the red lead by Metal (-8.91 per cent), Private Banks (-8.76 per cent), Nifty Bank index (-8.29 per cent), IT (-8.27 per cent) and Financial Services (-7.97 per cent).

Shares of IndusInd Bank Ltd slid over 18 per cent while those of State Bank of India was down 7 per cent.

Oil-to-retail conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd fell as much as 8.42 per cent.

Equity markets continue to be whipsawed by the disease, which has now infected almost 170,000 people and killed more than 6,000 with several countries going into lockdown as Europe becomes the new epicentre of the outbreak.

NSE sectoral indices at close

China, Hong Kong stocks fall as virus fears spread

Chinese stocks tumbled Monday as investors sold out on fears about the global spread of the coronavirus and its potential impact on the world economy, analysts said.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed down 3.40 percent, or 98.18 points, at 2,789.25, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange fell 4.83 percent, or 86.96 points, to 1,712.02.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index finished down 4.03 per cent, or 969.34 points, at 23,063.57.

The losses were in line with another plunge across Asia as emergency policy easing measures by central banks including the US Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan, and the Reserve Bank of Australia failed to ease investors’ worries.

The China losses came despite a People’s Bank of China cut in the reserve requirement ratio for some commercial lenders, which the central bank said was expected to have released liquidity of around 550 billion yuan (USD 78.5 billion) into the market.

Burger King India puts IPO on hold after market turmoil

Burger King India Ltd., owned by private equity fund Everstone Capital, is putting its planned initial public offering on hold after the country’s equities market tumbled on fears of a global economic slowdown and the spread of novel coronavirus, people familiar with the matter said.

The company decided to postpone launching the share sale after discussions with its advisers, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. The retailer initially planned to start the IPO before the end of this month, with a target to raise about 4 billion rupees ($54 million), according to a preliminary prospectus.

Markets update: The benchmark stock index slumped on Monday after entering into a bear market last week amid concern that the novel coronavirus outbreak can threaten the nations already fragile economy.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 7.3% to 31,612.73 as of 2:18 p.m , with all 30 members declining, following a wild session on Friday, when the gauge swung to end 4% higher from a 10% slide that triggered a market-wide circuit breaker. The Nifty Index fell 7.1% today.

The NSE Volatility Index, the stock markets fear gauge, is hovering around levels not seen since 2008, signalling market turbulence will likely persist. Policy makers have pledged to use their record $481 billion foreign-currency arsenal in a bid to stem the market rout, while the economy is expanding at its slowest pace in 11 years.

RBI to hold briefing amid flurry of Asia rate cuts

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das will hold a press conference Monday, hours after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates and triggered a wave of central bank action across Asia.

A central bank spokesman declined to give details of the press briefing scheduled for 4 p.m. in Mumbai. Read more here

Bajaj Auto launches BS-VI range of 3-wheelers, completes transition to new emission norm

Bajaj Auto Ltd on Monday said it has launched its BS-VI range of commercial vehicles across brands -- RE, Maxima and Maxima Cargo.

The company has launched 14 BS-VI compliant products across the RE, Maxima and Maxima Cargo brands and thus has transitioned to BS-VI regime for the entire three-wheeler range, Bajaj Auto said in a statement.

Wholesale inflation eases to 2.26% in February on cheaper food articles, vegetables

Wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation softened to 2.26 per cent in February on the back of cheaper foods and vegetables, government data showed on Monday.

In January, the WPI inflation stood at 3.1 per cent and in the year-ago same period it was at 2.93 per cent, as per the data from the commerce and industry ministry.

The WPI inflation for food articles for February 2020 came in at 7.79 per cent as against 11.51 per cent in the previous month.

Nifty call: Sell on rallies with stop-loss at 9,500

The rally on Friday appears to have been a just pull back move, as the stock market resumed its downtrend today. Following the cues from the major Asian markets, the Indian benchmark indices witnessed a gap-down opening. Currently, the Nifty spot and the Sensex spot indices are trading lower by 5.5 per cent each. While the Nikkei and the Shanghai composite indices are down by 2.5 per cent each, the Hang Seng index has lost nearly 4 per cent so far. Read more here

Indian retail reels under coronavirus concerns

Amid the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country, the order of closure of malls and multiplexes across many top cities by the respective state governments to prevent people congregating for any reason, has caused the organised retail scene there to come to a grinding halt, according to Anarock Retail.

Ahmedabad, Bangaluru, Chennai, Delhi/NCR, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune have 126 malls sprawling over more than 61 million sq. ft. area, and more than 100 malls have multiplexes attached, the property consultant said.

Vodafone Idea pays Rs 3,354 cr to govt in AGR dues, claims principal amount fully paid now

Loss-making telecom operator Vodafone Idea on Monday said it has made an additional payment of Rs 3,354 crore towards adjusted gross revenue (AGR) to the Department of Telecom (DoT), thereby completing payment of principal amount calculated on self-assessment basis.

With this fresh payment, Vodafone Idea (VIL) has paid Rs 6,854 crore towards AGR dues.

“The company has today (Monday) paid a further amount of Rs 3,354 crore to the DoT, being the balance part of the principal amount towards AGR liability. Thus, the company has paid the full principal amount of Rs 6,854 crore towards AGR dues,” VIL said in a BSE filing.

NSE Sectoral indices at 12.20 pm

Markets now factoring in a few bad quarters of growth; panic overdone: says Rashesh Shah

Rashesh Shah, founder Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Edelweiss Group, has seen many ups and downs in the stock market during his career spanning nearly 30 years. He is of the view that the current crisis is reminiscent of instances in the past, and the fear and panic will subside soon to make way for a new stock market rally. There could be a couple of bad quarters for the global economy but no permanent shutdown of business and trade. Low current account deficit, high forex reserves and bounty from lower oil prices will emerge as India’s biggest strengths. Excerpts from an interview

Covid-19 outbreak: PVR, INOX Leisure plunge up to 19 per cent

Shares of multiplex operators on Monday fell sharply by up to 19 per cent after various states announced closure of cinema halls till March 31 in view of Covid-19 outbreak.

PVR tumbled 18.85 per cent to its 52-week low of ₹1,045.85, and INOX Leisure plunged 14.77 per cent to hit its day’s low of ₹270 on the BSE.

In view of coronavirus threat, several states have announced to close cinema halls till March 31.

The move will hit business of mutiplex operators which dent their profitability in days to come, traders said.

The number of infected cases in the country stood at 110 on Monday, as per the health ministry.

Alembic Pharma receives 4 observations from USFDA for Panelav facility

Alembic Pharmaceuticals on Monday said that US health regulator has conducted an inspection at it Panelav facility in Gujarat and issued Form 483 with four procedural observations.

“The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has conducted an inspection at Alembic Pharmaceuticals general oral solid formulation facility located at Panelav from 9-13 March, 2020,” the drug firm said in a filing to the BSE.

Investments in YES Bank aimed at maintaining financial stability in system, not RoI: SBI chief

State Bank of India Chairman Rajnish Kumar on Monday said investments by banks in crippled Yes Bank are being made to maintain financial stability in the system, and not guided by the principle of return on investment (RoI).

“The decision of the State Bank of India (SBI) and all other banks coming together, it is not guided by the return on capital principles or investments. It is all guided by providing stability to the financial system,” Kumar told reporters at the listing ceremony of SBI Cards and Payment Services here.

The scrip made a weak debut at bourses, plunging nearly 13 per cent, against its issue price of Rs 755.

SBI has invested Rs 6,050 crore in crisis-ridden Yes Bank.

ICICI Bank, Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bandhan Bank, Federal Bank and IDFC First have also joined the SBI-led consortium and invested in Yes Bank.

HDFC will invest Rs 1,000 crore in Yes Bank through a purchase of 100 crore shares. Axis Bank will invest Rs 600 crore by buying 60 crore shares and Kotak Mahindra Bank Rs 500 crore through 50 crore shares.

Bandhan Bank will invest another Rs 300 crore through the purchase of 30 crore shares. IDFC First and Federal Bank have invested Rs 250 crore and Rs 350 crore, respectively, in the lender

Concor to surrender 10 under-performing depots built on Railways land

Privatisation-bound Container Corporation of India Ltd (Concor) will surrender at least 10 under-performing container depots built on land leased from the Indian Railways (IR) at concessional rates. Read the full story here

Coffee Day Enterprises probe finds $270 million missing from its accounts

The months-long probe into Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd ., initiated by its board after the death of founder V G Siddhartha has found at least $270 million missing from the company’s accounts,  Bloomberg  reported on Monday.

The draft report of the investigation that is longer than a hundred pages is likely to conclude that at least $270 million is missing from the firm’s accounts, the report said.

Should we blame market fall on algo trades?

As the markets world over crashed and ‘entered into bear territory’, a lot of marketmen took to blaming it on pre-programmed trading or automated trading using various algorithms, famously known as algo trades.

Across the globe, even in the so-called developed markets, trading was halted last week on a few occasions, as the benchmark indices hit the prescribed lower circuit. In India too, for the first time since 2008, trading was halted on Friday but bounced back sharply after trading resumed subsequently. Click here to read more

Yes Bank to be excluded from Nifty 50, Nifty bank from March 19

Troubled private lender Yes Bank will be dropped from benchmark index Nifty 50, banking index Nifty bank and other Nifty indices from March 19, NSE Indices said on Monday.

Earlier, the changes were scheduled to happen on March 27, NSE Indices, a subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), said in a statement.

However, in light of the recent developments relating to Yes Bank and its reconstruction scheme, NSE Indices’ Index Maintenance Sub-Committee (IMSC) has decided to accelerate the removal of Yes Bank from Nifty 50 and Nifty Bank and also remove it from all Nifty equity indices from Thursday, March 19.

Shree Cement will replace the private lender in Nifty 50 and in Nifty bank index, Bandhan Bank will find a place.

RITES likely to sail on Kerala Government order

RITES has secured a consulting work award with fee income of ₹60 crore from the Government of Kerala for conducting independent quality audit for Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board projects.

The period of execution is likely to be 21 months, the public sector undertaking (PSU) said in a notice to the stock exchanges. The stock of RITES may react positively to the development, even as its shareholders will closely monitor the execution of the project and further details.

Update: Equity benchmark Sensex plummeted over 2,000 points and the Nifty gave up the 9,400 level in opening session on Monday after the Federal Reserve’s rate cut fanned concerns over the impact of Covid-19 on world economy.

The rupee too depreciated 41 paise to 74.16 against US dollar in morning session.

Resuming its downward spiral, domestic BSE Sensex sank 2004.20 points or 5.88 per cent to 32,099.28 in morning session. Similarly, the NSE Nifty cracked 596.25 points, or 5.99 per cent, to 9,358.95.

At 10.35 am, The Sensex was quoted at 32,473, down 1,629 points. The Nifty was down 475 points at 9,479.

In the previous session, the 30-share BSE barometer recovered over 5,380 points from its intra-day low of 29,388.97, ending 1,325.34 points or 4.04 per cent higher at 34,103.48. The Nifty settled 365.05 points, or 3.81 per cent, up at 9,955.20.

All Sensex components were trading in the red. IndusInd Bank was the top loser, tanking up to 12 per cent, followed by ICICI Bank, HDFC, Axis Bank, Titan, Tata Steel and Bajaj Finance.

Investor wealth erodes by Rs 6.25 lakh cr on coronavirus scare

Investor wealth worth Rs 6.25 lakh crore was wiped off in early morning trade on Monday as markets witnessed yet another sell-off, with the BSE benchmark plunging 2,182.41 points as Covid-19 scare continued to hit sentiment.

The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies dropped by Rs 6,25,501.8 crore to Rs 1,23,00,741.02 crore in the opening trade.

The drop in investor wealth was led by extremely weak market sentiment, where the BSE Sensex witnessed another plunge after staging a strong comeback on Friday

Index heatmap @ 10.25 am

Daily Rupee call: Tread with caution

The rupee (INR) has opened lower today, at 74.07 versus Friday’s close of 73.91 against the dollar (USD). The currency market is expected to witness higher volatility today as the US Federal reserves has cut its benchmark interest by one per cent. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has reduced it benchmark rate by 75 bps . Read more here

Yes Bank crisis: Enforcement Directorate summons Anil Ambani

Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani has been summoned by the ED in connection with its money laundering probe against Yes Bank promoter Rana Kapoor and others, officials said on Monday.

They said Ambani has been asked to depose at the Enforcement Directorate office in Mumbai on Monday as his group companies are one among the big entities whose loans went bad after borrowing from the crisis-hit bank.

It is understood that Ambani has sought exemption on health grounds from the agency and he may be issued a new date.

Yes Bank scrip gains over 30 per cent

YES Bank scrip on Monday gained as much as 30 per cent on early morning trade even as markets remained volatile on concerns over coronavirus.

In what seems to be a thumbs-up from the investor community to the bank’s reconstruction plan and cleaning up of its balancesheet, Yes Bank scrip was up 32.68 per cent at ₹33.90 apiece on BSE on Monday.

 The moratorium on the private sector lender will cease at 6 pm on Wednesday.

 YES Bank had on March 14 reported a standalone net loss of a whopping ₹18,560.31 crore in the third quarter of the fiscal. The bank had a net profit of ₹1,001.85 crore in the same period last fiscal.

Rupee plunges 42 paise versus USD

Rupee plunges 42 paise to 74.17 against US dollar in the early trade on Monday.

Index Outlook: How long can 8,555 hold in Nifty 50?

March 13, 2020, is one of those trading days which will remain etched in the memories of all investors for years to come.

The dramatic decline of 10 per cent in the indices, followed by a trading halt, and an exhilarating rebound of almost 18 per cent from the day’s low left everyone gaping. Click here to read the full technicals

Future perfect: Strangle on Asian Paints may turn rosy

The long term outlook remains bullish for Asian Paints . We expect the stock to move in a range before taking a clear direction. The stock finds an immediate support at Rs 1,706 and resistance at Rs 1,817. Two major support levels are Rs 1,575 and Rs 1,434. A close below the latter will change the long-term outlook negative. A conclusive close above Rs 1,856 will reconfirm bullish sign and has the potential to lift the stock above Rs 2,000-mark. Click here to read more on the technicals

Opening bell: The equity indices on Monday fell sharply after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates to near zero.

The Sensex is down 1,515.75 points at 32,587.73, while Nifty fell 446.85 points at 9,508.35. About 287 shares have advanced, 1,209 stocks declined, and 469 shares are unchanged.

All other sectoral indices are trading in the red, lead by Nifty Media, which fell 8.10 per cent.

The NSE stock futures listed on Singapore Exchange were down nearly 4% by 0241 GMT.

The U.S. Federal Reserve slashed rates back to near zero, restarted bond buying and joined other central banks to ensure liquidity in dollar lending.

U.S. stock futures plunged 4.8% to hit their downlimit before daybreak in Singapore. The dollar sank more than 2% against the yen.

Australia's benchmark stock index fell 7% in the first quarter-hour of trade, South Korea's KOSPI was a shade weaker and MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan off 0.5% to a level not seen since early 2017.

Grim data out of China also weighed on sentiment, with January-February industrial output plunging 13.5% and retail sales down 20.5%.

Dollar dumped after US Fed rate cut, ball in Bank of Japan's court for next coronavirus move

The dollar fell against a broad range of currencies on Monday after the US Federal Reserve made another surprise interest rate cut and major central banks took steps to relieve a shortage of dollars and provide extra liquidity.

Pressure has been building on central banks to do something to restore calm to financial markets roiled by the deepening coronavirus crisis. Click here to read more

Oil extends slide, nears $30 a barrel as virus weighs on global economy

Oil prices extended losses on Monday, slumping by more than $1 a barrel, as an emergency rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve failed to soothe global financial markets panicked by the rapid spread of the coronavirus and mounting economic disruptions.

Over the weekend, more governments locked down by cancelling flights to contain the virus, telling some businesses like restaurants to close and encouraging more people to stay home. Read more here

Wall Street had its choppiest week since 1929

Price swings in the U.S. equity market this week were more extreme than they’ve been since Herbert Hoover was president.

The S&P 500 Index moved at least 4% in each of the five days, falling three times and rising twice. The last such stretch of moves of that magnitude occurred in 1929. The index was launched in 1957 and all information prior to that was back tested based on the methodology that was in effect on the launch date. Read more here

US Federal Reserve cuts key interest rate to 0-0.25 per cent amid coronavirus crisis

n a drastic measure to stem any major disruption to the US economy as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, the Federal Reserve has cut its benchmark interest rate to almost zero and said it would buy USD700 billion in bonds.

The COVID-19 pandemic has sickened more than 156,000 people worldwide and left more than 5,800 dead. The death toll in the US stands at 68, while infections neared 3,700. For more read, click here

Stocks reel as Fed leads global rescue effort for markets

Stock markets and the dollar were roiled on Monday after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates in an emergency move and its major peers offered cheap U.S. dollars to break a logjam in global lending markets.

The aggressive policy steps were aimed at cushioning the economic impact as the breakneck spread of the coronavirus all but shut down more countries, but had only limited success in calming panicky investors.

Data out of China also underscored just how much economic damage the disease had already done with industrial output plunging 13.5% and retail sales 20.5%.

“By any historical standard, the scale and scope of these actions was extraordinary,” said Nathan Sheets, chief economist at PGIM Fixed Income, who helps manage $1.3 trillion in assets. ”This is dramatic action and truly does represent a bazooka.” Read more here

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