Corona carnage: Sensex crashes 1,448 pts; Rs 5.45 lakh cr investor wealth wiped off

The Sensex logged its second-biggest one-day fall in history on Friday as concerns over the rapidly-spreading coronavirus triggered a manic global sell-off. World markets sank deeper into the red, posting their worst week since the 2008 financial crisis, on fears that the virus outbreak could tip the global economy into a recession.

The list of countries hit by Covid-19 grew to 57, with New Zealand, Nigeria, Azerbaijan and the Netherlands reporting their first cases. Continuing its downward spiral for the sixth straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 1,448.37 points, or 3.64 per cent, lower at 38,297.29.

This was the benchmark's second-worst drop in absolute terms after August 24, 2015, when it had plunged 1,624.51 points. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty sank 431.55 points or 3.71 per cent to end at 11,201.75. The carnage in the equity markets wiped out investor wealth worth Rs 5,45,452.52 crore, with the total market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies standing at Rs 1,46,94,571.56 crore.

The m-cap of BSE-listed companies was at Rs 1,52,40,024.08 crore at the end of trading on Thursday. During the week, Sensex plunged 2,872.83 points or 6.97 per cent, and the Nifty tumbled 879.10 or 7.27 per cent. Barring ITC, all Sensex constituents finished with losses on Friday. Tech Mahindra plunged 8.14 per cent, followed by Tata Steel (7.57 per cent), Mahindra and Mahindra (7.50 per cent), HCL Tech (6.98 per cent), Bajaj Finance (6.24 per cent) and Infosys (5.95 per cent).

All BSE sectoral indices ended in the red, with metal, IT, teck, basic materials, industrials, energy, finance, auto and bankex skidding up to 7.01 per cent.

"Increase in new virus cases is diluting investor wealth across the globe. On the domestic front broad-based selling was witnessed with sectors having global exposure like metals & IT being impacted the most.

"Market is yet to quantify the exact economic impact of the on-going virus concerns but further acceleration could pose risk in short to medium term," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Further, incessant selling by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) spooked retail investors, traders said. According to provisional data available with stock exchanges, so far this week, FPIs have offloaded stocks worth Rs 9,389 crore on a net basis. Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended up to 3.71 per cent lower. Stock exchanges in Europe plunged up to 4 per cent in their morning sessions.

In overnight trade on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,190.95 points, its largest one-day fall in history. Brent crude oil futures dropped 3.38 per cent to USD 49.98 per barrel as traders turned jittery about the impact of coronavirus on crude demand, particularly from key consumer China. On the currency front, the Indian rupee tumbled 55 paise to 72.16 per US dollar (intra-day).