Sensex, Nifty hit 10% lower circuit, trading suspended for 45 minutes

The benchmark equity indices on the BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE) slipped to their respective 10 per cent lower end on during the morning trade on Monday, triggering a circuit breaker, following which the trade has been suspended for a period of 45 minutes.

This is the second time during this month that trading was halted because of fears over the spread of coronavirus which has threatened to bring world economies to a halt.

The S&P BSE Sensex crashed 2,991.85 points (10 per cent) to hit 26,924.11, while the Nifty 50 fell 842.45 points (9.63 per cent) to slip to 7,903.00. Both the indices had opened over 8 per cent lower today.

All the Sensex stocks were trading in a sea of red. Axis Bank was the worst performer during the morning session on the 30-share BSE benchmark, it had slipped 20 per cent.

Among the sectoral indices on NSE, the Nifty Bank index cracked over 12.5 per cent during the morning deals weighed by Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank.

Rupee

The rupee slipped further by 95 paise to 76.15 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday amid a sharp rise in coronavirus cases in the country and heavy selling in domestic equities.

Forex traders said market participants are concerned that the sharp rise in coronavirus cases, with nearly 400 cases in the country, could weigh on the economy.

The rupee which opened on a weak note at 75.90 at the interbank forex market, lost further ground and touched a low of 76.15 against the US dollar, registering a decline of over 95 paise over its last close. The local unit had settled at 75.20 against the US dollar on Friday.

(Inputs and image from theindianexpress.com)