Indian bourses closed on account of Ram Navami, Asian shares fall

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India were closed on Thursday due to Ram Navami, the Hindu festival celebrated to mark the birth of Lord Rama.

Wholesale commodity markets including metal and bullion were also shut. There was no trading activity in foreign exchange and commodity futures markets as well.

A day earlier, the BSE S & P Sensex closed 1,203 points or 4.08 per cent lower at 28,265 while the Nifty 50 was 344 points or 4 per cent down at 8,254.

The coronavirus pandemic has shut borders and businesses in most parts of the world, leaving investors to ponder on its huge implications on the global economy and societies. Meanwhile, Asian equities fell on Thursday after a dire warning about the US coronavirus death toll.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan fell by 1.2 per cent. Japan's Nikkei extended Wednesday's drop with a 1.5 per cent fall.

Markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul too dropped though futures for the S & P 500 bounced following Wall Street's 4 per cent plunge overnight.