Sensex hits 10% lower circuit, trading halted for 45 minutes

Trading in the domestic stock market once again got halted for 45 minutes on Monday as the benchmark Sensex hit a lower circuit limit of 10 per cent as India, along with a host of other countries went into a lockdown to stem the spread of Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. 

The Sensex hit a low of 26,924.11, triggering temporary pause in trading across all the segments in the markets. It was the second instance of trading halt in the Indian market in a span of 10 days. Earlier, in March 13, Nifty hit lower circuit in the opening deals for the first time since May 2009. 

Circuit Breaker is the mechanism which is triggered when the price fluctuation moves beyond a threshold value stipulated by the stock exchange. The index-based market-wide circuit breaker system applies at three stages of the index movement, either way, i.e. at 10 per cent, 15 per cent and 20 per cent. These circuit breakers when triggered bring about a coordinated trading halt in all equity and equity derivative markets nationwide. The market-wide circuit breakers are triggered by the movement of either the BSE Sensex or the Nifty50, whichever is breached earlier, explains National Stock Exchange (NSE).

On the global front, Asian shares sank as a rising tide of national lockdowns threatened to overwhelm policymakers’ frantic efforts to cushion what is likely to be a deep global recession. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 3.8%, with New Zealand’s market shedding a record 10% as the government closed all non-essential businesses.

In commodities, oil prices fell. Brent crude futures fell $1.09, or 4%, to $25.89 a barrel by 0209 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures was down 15 cents, or 0.7%, at $22.48 a barrel, said a Reuters report.