Bruised, Battered Sensex Sees Biggest Loss Ever, Closes 3934 Pts Lower

It was bloodbath across the stock markets, with the Sensex seeing the biggest ever fall in absolute terms, with banking stocks falling like nine pins. Fears that the coronavirus could even lead to a recession and major bank defaults left stocks bruised and battered.

The Sensex saw its biggest ever fall in absolute terms, even as SEBI induced measures on short selling, failed to stem colossal losses. The Sensex ended the day with losses of near 4,000 points, while the Nifty dived 1,135 points in trade, the worst ever in history.

Banking and financial stocks fall sharply

It was carnage for most of the banking stocks. Bandhan Bank ended the day 24 per cent lower, while IndusInd dropped 23 per cent. Most of the financial space including marquee names like Kotak Mahindra bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank lost anywhere between 10 to 20 per cent. The biggest loser from the Nifty space was Axis Bank, which plunged 27 per cent.

Even NBFC and stocks like SBI Cards lost heavy ground. Interestingly, all of the Nifty stocks ended the day in the red, though Coal India managed to fall less and was relatively insulated from the dramatic fall.

Global cues weak

Global cues continued to remain extremely weak, with the Dow Futures locked at the lower end of the circuit filter. European markets were trading with cuts of close to 4 per cent, though the Indian markets ended much lower than most markets. Most analysts are warning that there could be a further downside risk in stocks and hence it is difficult to pinpoint the bottom. At present investors might want to protect their capital.