MARKETS: Sensex slumps 2,919 pts, Nifty at 33-mth low in biggest 1-day fall

All that happened in the markets today

4:21 PM

COMMENT :: Barclays on RBI rate cut possibility

Amid heightened uncertainty and rising fears of a greater than expected impact on global growth than we currently estimate, the Reserve Bank of India is increasingly staring at an unexpected conflict with its official mandate of keeping CPI inflation around 4% with a 2% band: growth risks have risen dramatically, while CPI inflation remains outside its target band.

However, given the evolving macroeconomic situation and deteriorating global backdrop, we believe risks of an intermeeting cut of 25-40bp have increased materially. Even if the RBI does not make an intermeeting move, we see them cutting by at least 65bp by June, with risks biased towards more easing than this

4:19 PM

MARKET TECHNICALS :: Manav Chopra, CMT, Head Research - Equity, Indiabulls Securities

Coronavirus has created uncertainty and panic across globe. Next meaningful support on the downside for the Nifty50 is is placed between 8,900-9,100 levels. So far, important support levels have been breached easily on gap downs. Investors should refrain from catching the falling knife.

Support: 9,400-9,100 & Resistance: 9,850-10,000   

4:17 PM

COMMENT :: S&P Global Platts on oil

The “pandemic” oil demand growth scenario shows a very deep contraction, particularly in the first half of the year. March and April demand would be brutally curtailed, even more so than February, as we would have most of the regions in the world being under the virus siege, at the same time.  We assume this global pandemic to be over by August of this year.

At a product level, gasoline and jet fuel would suffer the most, as they are the fuels of discretionary travel, which gets cut both by people’s fears and governments once the outbreak occurs. Global trade would be severely impacted and therefore fuel oil would also suffer. Gasoil/diesel on the other hand should be more resilient

-- Claudio Galimberti, head of demand, refining and agriculture analytics, S&P Global Platts

4:09 PM

MARKET COMMENT | Siddharth Mehta, Founder & CIO, Bay Capital

While markets may well go down further, investing when terrified is one of the hardest things to do. It is through this terror that one must think rationally and look to buy great businesses which are unleveraged, which are stellar capital allocators with the highest governance standards and which will not just survive but come out stronger over the next 5 to 10 years and thus potentially provide outsized returns to the intrepid investor.

4:07 PM

Don't stay on the sidelines; time to buy now as per risk appetite

In the last 10 years, markets have not been as volatile as has been in the last 10 days. There have been a number of factors at play over the last week or so. Coronavirus (COVID-19), unprecedented fall in crude oil prices and the YES Bank reconstruction proposal have all contributed to the fall. READ MORE  

Aditya Khemani, Motilal Oswal AMC

4:05 PM

MARKET COMMENT | Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

Recession fears increased after WHO declared coronavirus a pandemic which forced investors to sell off risky assets. Fresh travel bans across nations is contributing to the fears that economic impact will be much larger than earlier estimates. RBI is expected to cut interest rate and announce additional liquidity before the scheduled meeting which is due next month

3:54 PM

MARKET ALERT :: BSE lose m-cap of Rs 10.9 trillion

3:49 PM

STOCK ALERT | Indiabulls Housing Finance tanked 29% today

>> Stock has fallen 51% in four days after the company said Yes Bank owes Rs 662 crore via AT-1 bonds 

3:41 PM

STOCK ALERT | Avenue Supermarts, IRCTC, SpiceJet hit lower circuits today

Shares of Avenue Supermarts, the parent company of supermarket chain D-Mart, state owned travel support services firm Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation and the country’s low cost airline SpiceJet among total 516 stocks that frozen lower circuit on the BSE on Thursday with no buyers were seen in these counters

3:39 PM

NEWS ALERT | SBI approves purchase of 725 cr shares of YES Bank: BSE filing

3:37 PM

Sectoral trends at NSE at close; Nifty PSB index worst performer

3:37 PM

MARKET COMMENT :: UBS

While the number of reported COVID-19 cases in India is still modest (50 confirmed cases), we believe the fear and uncertainty over its impact could worsen near-term consumer sentiment and hence domestic demand. The impact on production due to shortages of inputs (in a few sectors including electronics, pharma, automobiles) or reduced external demand (on slowing global growth) would also have a bearing on India's growth outlook. This together with weak credit impulse domestically could constrain growth notably over the next two quarters. In our base case, we expect India's real GDP growth to slip further to 4-4.5% YoY in the March and June 2020 quarters from the 4.7% YoY growth in the December 2019 quarter

Switzerland's national flag flies under the logo of Swiss bank UBS in Zurich

3:36 PM

Bloodbath on D-Street; SBI top drag on Sensex, plunges 13%

3:34 PM

Closing Bell | Indices post biggest one-day fall in absolute terms

>> The S&P BSE Sensex closed at 32,778.14 level, down 2,919.26 points or 8,18 per cent

>> NSE's Nifty50 settled 868.25 points, or 8.30 per cent lower, at 9,590.15.

3:31 PM

NEWS ALERT | Telcos asked to make payment on the basis of self-assessment: DoT to Rajya Sabha

>> DoT to carry out re-assessment later

(As reported by CNBC TV18)

3:26 PM

Market check | Indices stage minor recovery

3:17 PM

RBI may come to the rescue of bleeding markets with liquidity-boost

The market has been expecting an off-cycle interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India but the source said no such step is being mulled at this point in time. Another official confirmed this.

 

"The RBI will look to push more liquidity in the market and ease repayment issues to sectors that have been disrupted by supply chains being broken down," Reuters reported quoting sources. READ MORE

3:15 PM

MARKET COMMENT:: Siddharth Mehta, Founder & CIO, Bay Capital

Amidst all the panic, we don’t know what the future holds for the market or the world in the very near term – HOWEVER, we do think that, as of what we know today , it is unlikely to change the way we live or change the way businesses are operated or valued in the long term. Therefore even as India goes through this period with the overhang of a very weak economy, we are convinced that there are high quality businesses out there for whom competition has reduced over the last few years and will further reduce, whose market shares have increased and they will continue to gain as there is a shift to quality, whose distribution networks have become stronger and for whom tax rates have become significantly lower.

 

While markets may well go down further, investing when terrified is one of the hardest things to do. It is through this terror that one must think rationally and look to buy great businesses which are unleveraged, which are stellar capital allocators with the highest governance standards and which will not just survive but come out stronger over the next 5 to 10 years and thus potentially provide outsized returns to the intrepid investor.

3:09 PM

FPIs pull out Rs 32,777 cr from markets in 12 days as risk-off intensifies

Outflow from the Indian capital market could pick up pace if foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continue to remain in a risk-off phase given the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic that has tightened its grip over most economies, say analysts. Adopting a cautious approach amid the worldwide outbreak of the new coronavirus (Covid-19), foreign portfolio investors (FPI) have already pulled out a net Rs 32,777 crore ($4.5 billion) from the Indian capital markets in the past twelve trading days. READ MORE

3:02 PM

HDFC Bank slides 10%

2:52 PM

India VIX surges 35%

2:47 PM

Sector Watch | Nifty PSU Bank index sinks over 13%, hits record low

2:46 PM

SBI cracks over 13%

2:45 PM

Sector Watch | Nifty Bank index crashes over 10%

2:44 PM

MARKET ALERT :: India Volatility Index at record high

2:40 PM

Market check | Nifty tests 9,550

2:38 PM

Heatmap: S&P BSE Sensex

2:27 PM

MARKET UPDATE:: Sensex at day's low, crashes 3,100 pts

2:09 PM

ITC extends losses, down over 12% now

1:59 PM

Colgate-Palmolive trades higher in a weak market