The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indices suffered their biggest single-day selloff ever in absolute terms as the Indian markets entered a bear phase.

The investor sentiment - which has been shaky in the past few weeks in the backdrop of the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak - took a further beating after the World Health Organisation declared the deadly virus as a pandemic.

The Nifty 50 crashed as much as 9 per cent or 950 points to 9,508 during the session - its lowest level recorded since June 2017 and the S&P BSE Sensex dropped as much as 8.97 per cent or 3,204 points to 32,493 - its lowest in 23 months.

The Sensex cracked 2,919.26 points - or 8.18 per cent - to close at 32,778.14 and the Nifty dropped 868.25 points - or 8.3 per cent - to settle at 9,590.15.

The domestic markets markets slumped mirroring losses globally as investors around the world anticipated the COVID-19 pandemic will lead the global economy into recession, analysts said. More than 1,00,000 people have been infected by the deadly coronavirus around the globe, and 73 in India.

The markets are already in a bear phase (20 per cent off peak). The Nifty is far away from the 200-day simple moving average. The lockouts around the world are spooking the markets.

Markets will not recover in a hurry and investors should not buy anything. Apart from virus multiple factors are adding stress to our markets. These are difficult times there can be a sharp recovery but that will be sold into.

All the 11 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended lower led by the Nifty PSU Bank index’s over 13 per cent slump. Nifty Bank, Private Bank, Realty, Pharma, Metal, Media, IT, Financial Services and Auto sector gauges also dropped between 8-10 per cent each.

In what appears to be the worst trading session in the Indian stock markets, the benchmark BSE sensex fell over 3,100 points to trade below the 33,000-mark.

At 2.40 pm, the index was trading at 32,537.45, lower by 3,159.95 points or 8.85 per cent from the previous close. So far it has touched an intra-day low of 32,530.05 points. The Nifty 50 on the National Stock Exchange also lost nearly 900 points so far. It was trading at 9,575.05, lower by 883.35 points or 8.45 per cent from its previous close.

The plunge was in line with the global markets as all Asian indices also traded in the red after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared coronavirus a global pandemic following which the Dow Jones Industrial Average also slumped significantly on Wednesday.

The bear run in both the global and domestic markets has continued off late on concerns of the coronavirus outbreak severely impacting the global economy. Central banks in several countries, including the US Federal Reserve have announced emergency rate cuts to boost sentiments. However, the concerns have only deepened in the past few days as the number of COVID-19 cases across the world has increased.

The Indian rupee also felt the pressure and touched a 17-month low of 74.34 per dollar in its initial trade.

The Indian rupee on Thursday weakened to a 17-month low of 74.34 per US dollar as global markets slumped after the World Health Organization declared coronavirus as a global pandemic. The rupee weakened to 74.3387 per dollar on Thursday to near its record low of 74.4825, a level last seen in October 2018.The rupee hit its record low in October, 2018, when it was 74.48.

In terms of the UAE dirham, the rate is now Rs 20.14 per dirham.

It has however, somewhat recovered from the lows to trade around 74.14 per greenback.

The concerns of the coronavirus outbreak severely impairing the global economy have off late weighed on the investor sentiments across markets.

The declaration of the disease as a pandemic late on Wednesday has further deepened the concerns.

Stocks markets across the globe have plunged after WHO’s announcement on Wednesday. Indian equities also slumped with the BSE Sensex trading over 1,800 points lower.

At 10.20 am, Sensex was trading at 33,824.09, lower by 1,873.31 or 5.25 per cent from its previous close. The NSE Nifty50 was trading 564.45 points or 5.40 per cent lower at 9,893.95.

Along with the coronavirus fears, fall in oil prices also led to the depreciation in the Indian currency. Brent crude is currently trading around $34 per barrel.

Agencies