Investors lose nearly Rs 7 lakh cr on coronavirus fears

Investor wealth plummeted by nearly Rs 7 lakh crore on Monday as equity markets crashed tracking global equity sell-off amid mounting fears of an economic slowdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. Market capitalisation (m-cap) of the BSE-listed companies saw a massive decline after the Sensex plunged over 2,467 points during the day, the 30-share index settled 1,941.67 points or 5.17 per cent lower at 35,634.95.

Likewise, the NSE Nifty slumped 538 points or 4.90 per cent to close at 10,451.45. The carnage in the equity market wiped out investor wealth worth Rs 6,84,277.65 crore, taking the total m-cap to Rs 1,37,46,946.76 crore on the BSE at the end of Monday's trading session. The m-cap of BSE-listed companies stood at Rs 1,44,31,224.41 crore at the end of trading on Friday.

Traders believe mounting fear of recession in major economies due to the coronavirus outbreak has sent equities into a downward spiral. The overall confirmed cases on the mainland reached 80,735 by the end of Sunday which included 3,119 people who have died so far, 19,016 patients undergoing treatment and 58,600 patients discharged after recovery, China's National Health Commission (NHC) said.

Meanwhile, oil prices were in a free fall, plunging nearly 30 per cent to USD 32.11 per barrel after top exporter Saudi Arabia launched a price war in response to a failure by leading producers to strike a deal to support energy markets. All Sensex components closed in the red, led by losses in ONGC, Reliance, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, TCS, SBI and ICICI Bank. Traders said investor sentiments also remained fragile amid incessant foreign fund outflows. On a net basis, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 3,594.84 crore on Friday, data available with stock exchanges showed.

"With oil prices collapsing in the wake of weak global growth and with the COVID-19 spreading to over thirty countries, global markets were rattled today (Monday) and India also bore the brunt of relentless selling," said S Ranganathan, head of research at LKP Securities.

On the BSE, 2,199 scrips declined, while 357 advanced and 169 remained unchanged.