MARKETS: Indices end at 6-mth lows, Sensex tanks 894 pts; YES Bank down 56%

Bears continued to be in the driver's seat on Friday as markets witnessed another bout of across-the-board sell-off due to Coronavirus fears. Further, YES Bank crisis was another major factor that dragged the markets lower. 

The S&P BSE Sensex tanked 894 points or 2.32 per cent to settle the day at 37,577. During the day, the index hit a low of 37,011 levels. Bajaj Auto emerged as the biggest gainer on the index while Tata Steel (down over 6.5 per cent) was the top loser. 

On NSE, the broader Nifty50 index ended at 10,989, down 279.5 points or 2.48 per cent. 

On a weekly basis, Sensex dropped 1.8 per cent while Nifty lost 1.89 per cent. 

Among individual stocks, YES Bank cracked as much as 85 per cent during the day after RBI suspended the bank's board and placed it under moratorium for 30 days and capped withdrawal limit to Rs 50,000 for the one-month period. The stock eventually settled at Rs 16, down 56 per cent. READ MORE

State Bank of India (SBI) closed around 6.5 per cent lower at Rs 270, after it informed that its board has given in-principle approval to consider an “investment opportunity” in YES Bank. In a late night statement on Thursday, SBI, however, said no decision had yet been taken to pick up stake in the bank. READ MORE     

Besides, other banking stocks, too, tumbled in the trade. The Nifty Bank index ended at 27,781, down over 1,000 points or 3.6 per cent. 

Volatility index India VIX rose around 12 per cent to 25.96 levels. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index declined 343.5 points or over 2 per cent to 14,227 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended at 13,330, down 261.5 points or around 2 per cent.