MARKETS: Sensex down 242 pts, Nifty ends at 9,199; FMCG, financials decline

Brokers trade at their computer terminals at a stock brokerage firm in Mumbai. Photo: Reuters

Equity market ended yet another volatile session in the negative territory on Thursday amid a lack of positive triggers. The market witnessed across-the-board sell-off with financial and consumer stocks falling the most. Further, jump in Covid-19 cases in India also dented the sentiment. According to the health ministry, the number of Covid-19 cases reached 52,952 with deaths at 1,783. 

That apart, Bank of England's statement that Britain could be headed for its biggest economic slump in over 300 years due to the coronavirus lockdown also weighed on the investor sentiment. READ MORE

The headline index, S&P BSE Sensex, lost 242 points or 0.76 per cent to end at 31,443.38. Of 30 constituents, 25 ended in the red and rest 5 in the green. HDFC Bank, HDFC, Bharti Airtel, and ICICI Bank contributed the most to the index's fall.

NSE's Nifty settled at 9,199.05, down 72 points or 0.78 per cent. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended at 11,419.68, down 61 points or 0.5 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index slipped 0.14 per cent to 10,686.75 levels. 

Shares of YES Bank surged 20 per cent in the intra-day deals after the private lender reported better-than-expected March quarter (Q4FY20) results. For the recently concluded quarter, YES Bank posted a net profit of Rs 2,628.6 crore on the back of on-time gain attributed to an exceptional item of Rs 6,296 crore owing to writing-down additional tier-1 bonds as part of its planned reconstruction scheme. The stock ended at Rs 28.15, up nearly 7 per cent. READ MORE

Paint stocks extended their decline into Thursday and slipped up to 5 per cent on the BSE on concerns of demand destruction in the near term due to the outbreak of coronavirus (Covid-19). READ MORE

Global markets

World shares climbed on Thursday after Chinese exports proved far stronger than even bulls had imagined, while bond investors were still daunted by the staggering amount of US debt set to be sold and a tussle over ECB bond buying. 

Beijing reported exports rose 3.5 per cent in April year-on-year (YoY), completely confounding expectations of a 15.1 per cent fall and outweighing a 14.2 per cent drop in imports.

E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 fared better with a bounce of 1.2 per cent, though there were ominous signs too. Turkey’s lira fell to a record low amid worries about its dwindling reserves, oil was back under $30 a barrel and Italy’s bond yields hit 2 per cent again.

European shares rose too. 

In commodities, oil prices extended losses as the industry grappled with the growing global surplus of crude and the sharp coronavirus-led downturn in demand, with the outlook still grim despite April data showing a rise in imports into China.

(With inputs from Reuters)