Monday Mayhem: Rs 3.5 lakh crore wiped off as Sensex ends 882 points lower

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Concerns of the economic impact as more and more states going into lockdown due to mounting COVID-19 cases and collapse of the healthcare system in the country due to non-availability of beds, oxygen and vaccines led to a bloodbath on Dalal Street.

After crashing over 1,469 points in early trade, the 30-share BSE index pared some initial losses but still ended 882points or 1.81% lower at 47,949. Similarly, the broader market index Nifty recovered from day’s low 14,191 and ended at 14,359 plunging 258 points or 1.77%. The across board sell-off in the market saw investors losing Rs 3.5 lakh crore on Monday.

“The economic impact of the current rise in covid cases will be significant in the short term as it will lead to lockdowns across many states in the country. However, the demand is never fully destroyed and will come back.  For many industries like travel, tourism, restaurants and hotels the impact will be significant. IT, Pharma, Metals, Telecom and Consumer staples will be less impacted and provide support. Discretionary consumption will be the most impacted sector and will see challenges,” said Naveen Kulkarni, Chief Investment Officer of Axis Securities.

Barring Dr Reddy’s and Infosys all other Sensex shares ended in the red. PowerGrid was the top loser in the Sensex pack, slumping over 4%, followed by ONGC, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank, L&T, Asian Paints and Bajaj Auto.

Sectoral indices also showed a similar trend. Nifty Pharma ended with marginal gains of 0.17% while the Nifty IT index closed with a marginal loss of 0.33%. On the other hand, Nifty Realty lost the most over 4%, followed by Nifty Auto tanked 2.82% and Nifty Bank slumped 2.4%. Nifty Metal & Nifty FMCG indices in the range of 1-1.5%.

COVID-19 update:

India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases crossed 1.50 crore with a record single-day rise of 2,73,810 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases surpassed the 19-lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a six-day lockdown from 10 pm on Monday till 5 am on April 26 which he said was necessary as the city’s health system was stretched to its limits.

Economy:

According to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) weekly statistical supplement, India’s foreign exchange reserves rose $4.344 billion to stand at $581.213 billion during the week ended 9 April 2021 from $576.869 billion reported for the week ended 2 April 2021.

Similarly, the value of the country’s gold reserves rose $1.297 billion to $35.320 billion. The SDR value climbed $6 million to $1.492 billion. The country’s reserve position with the IMF inched higher by $24 million to $4.946 billion during the same tenure.

New listing:

Shares of Macrotech Developers closed at 454.50 on the BSE, at a discount of 6.48% over the initial public offer (IPO) price of Rs 486.

Global markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Monday as the global economic recovery and corporate earnings prospects bolstered sentiment despite rising COVID-19 infections. Chinese stocks outperformed amid easing concerns about the health of state enterprise China Huarong Asset Management Co., a bad-debt manager.

China’s financial regulator on Friday reportedly said Huarong had ample liquidity, the first official comments since the company missed a deadline to report earnings. That was enough to cement a rally in Huarong bonds and ease contagion fears.

Japan’s exports posted their strongest growth in more than three years in March. Ministry of Finance data showed on Monday exports surged 16.1% in March from a year earlier, marking the steepest rise since November 2017. That was followed by a 4.5% contraction in February.

U.S. stocks rose again on Friday as the market’s rally to records carried on amid strong earnings from blue-chip companies as well as solid data signalling a snapback in the economy. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Friday the U.S. economy is set to take off, but there’s still no reason to start tightening policy.

The University of Michigan said Friday its preliminary consumer sentiment index rose to a one-year high of 86.5 in the first half of this month from 84.9 in March.