Tata Steel, ONGC: Stocks that have suffered the most in the market meltdown

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) scare has hit the Indian markets and how! The indices entered bear phase on Thursday with the benchmarks S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE’s Nifty50 plummeting 30 per cent each from record highs touched in January this year.  The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the fast-spreading virus as pandemic on Wednesday as the cases across the globe topped 126,139 and fatalities exceeded 4,627. 

Carnage has hit global markets ever since concerns over the fast-spreading virus hobbled supply chains, and investors tried to evaluate the economic-impact of the contagious disease. The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday tumbled 5.86 per cent, bringing its loss from its February 12 high to 20.30 per cent. 

While the Indian equities were isolated from the global rout till early February, the downfall began when the virus began to spread outside mainland China, its originating country. Since February 20, the Sensex and the Nifty50 have tanked 14 per cent each, till Wednesday.

On Thursday, the frontline S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 1,821 points to hit a 17-month low of 33,876.13 within the first few minutes of trade. The NSE’s Nifty50, on the other hand, breached the 10,000-mark to touch 9,909 level, down 549 points. 

"The panic in the market might continue till we see global funds get into a complete distress mode. Reduction of economic activity is the solution to stop virus spread. So the next couple of months will be challenging till people get used to it," says Abhimanyu Sofat, Head of Research at IIFL Securities.

A quick analysis of the Sensex pack shows that scrips having strong global-linkages, especially China, and to crude oil have corrected up to 31 per cent. A broader analysis of BSE500 companies show that finance, infrastructure, and automobile stocks were hammered the most at the bourses. 

However, even in this beaten down market, Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL), The India Cements, Pidilite Industries, Ajanta Pharma, Vodafone Idea and Pfizer gained up to 39 per cent among the BSE500 pack. 

TOP SENSEX LOSERS SINCE FEBRUARY 20
Company Name	CMP as on March 11	CMP as on Feb 19	Percentage Change
Tata Steel Ltd.	299.40	432.95	-30.85
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd.	71.65	101.70	-29.55
IndusInd Bank Ltd.	853.65	1141.00	-25.18
State Bank Of India	245.20	320.25	-23.43
Reliance Industries Ltd.	1153.25	1504.20	-23.33
Bajaj Finance Ltd.	4030.30	4877.00	-17.36
Axis Bank Ltd.	618.75	741.20	-16.52
Bajaj Auto Ltd.	2590.70	3089.90	-16.16
Tech Mahindra Ltd.	708.75	840.95	-15.72
ITC Ltd.	175.70	206.70	-15.00

TOP BSE500 LOSERS SINCE FEB 20
Company Name	CMP as on March 11	CMP as on Feb 19	Percentage Change
Dish TV India Ltd.	6.29	11.11	-43.38
Welspun Corp Ltd.	119.50	209.35	-42.92
Corporation Bank	11.95	20.80	-42.55
Gayatri Projects Ltd.	15.35	26.60	-42.29
India Tourism Development Corporation Ltd.	180.95	303.10	-40.30
Oil India Ltd.	84.70	138.55	-38.87
Reliance Infrastructure Ltd.	14.25	23.05	-38.18
Sadbhav Engineering Ltd.	50.80	81.40	-37.59
NCC Ltd.	26.95	43.05	-37.40
Tata Motors Ltd.	99.00	158.05	-37.36

Source: ACE Equity