Sensex plunges by more than 1,000 points

Domestic benchmark indices have begun the week on a negative note as Sensex fell by 1,068.75 points, which is 3.44 per cent lower than its previous close to be at the level of 30,028.98. Nifty closed down by 313.60 points, which is 3.43 per cent lower than its previous close to settle at 8,823.25 level.

The stimulus announcements being made by the government continued to disappoint the market as the measures are beneficial in the long-term but failed to create the much-needed economic boost for short-term. It has been observed that since Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman started unveiling the details of the stimulus, the stock market has closed in red since there hasn’t been any immediate trigger for the market to move upward. Though the government has announced the lockdown 4.0 in India with fewer restrictions, it has still weakened the investor sentiments as the number of infected cases are on a rise as well. With the extension of lockdown, aviation stocks such as InterGlobe Aviation and SpiceJet dived down by 7.27 per cent and 4.92 per cent, respectively. Financial and banking stocks have suffered a huge fall. The market experts believe that the suspension of Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC) for a year may put banks at more risk while, they are already struggling to maintain a positive financial performance and low default rate in the current poor economic conditions. After witnessing a weak performance for a long time, European indices such as FTSE 100, CAC 40 and DAX are trading on a positive note, up by 2.14 per cent, 2.17 per cent and 2.77 per cent, respectively. Today’s surge in European indices is because the investors are hoping for a gradual economic recovery, after many countries eased lockdowns.

Only two stocks advanced in Sensex basket. TCS gained by 2.72 per cent and Infosys closed in green, up by 1.73 per cent. Sensex draggers included IndusInd Bank down by 10.02 per cent, Axis Bank fell by 7.55 per cent, HDFC fell by 7.55 per cent, ICICI Bank closed down by 7.44 per cent, Maruti fell by 7.40 per cent, SBI dropped by 6.61 per cent, Kotak Mahindra Bank fell by 5.47 per cent, etc.

Amongst BSE sectoral indices, Bankex and Finance were the biggest losers as the indices declined by 6.33 per cent and 6.39 per cent, respectively. Following them, Auto index decreased by 5.48 per cent and Realty index fell by 5.01 per cent. Small-cap and Mid-cap indices registered a fall by 2.89 per cent and 3.75 per cent each.