Sensex falls by 1,203 points, COVID-19 and lockdown weigh on investor sentiment

New Delhi: Equity benchmark indices closed 4 per cent lower on the first day of new financial year (2020-21) as investors remained focused on rising coronavirus infections and its economic impact within and outside the country.

At the closing bell, the BSE S&P Sensex was down by 1,203 points or 4.08 per cent to 28,265 while the Nifty 50 tumbled by 344 points or 4 per cent at 8,254.
All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the negative zone with Nifty IT down by 5.4 per cent, private bank by 4.8 per cent, financial service by 3.9 per cent and FMCG by 3.5 per cent.

Among stocks, private sector lenders Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank dropped by 8.6 per cent and 6.2 per cent respectively while State Bank of India dipped by 5 per cent. IT majors too were under pressure with Tech Mahindra down by 9.4 per cent, Tata Consultancy Services by 6.1 per cent, Infosys by 5.8 per cent and HCL Technologies by 4.9 per cent.

The other prominent losers were UPL, Shree Cement and Hindustan Lever. However, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance and Titan traded with a positive bias. Meanwhile, Asian stocks posted losses while coronavirus pandemic led the multilateral institution IMF to declare a global recession.

Shares in Japan dropped by 4.5 per cent and as a rapid increase in coronavirus infections in Tokyo fuelled speculation the government will place the capital on lockdown. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell by 2.19 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi by 3.94 per cent and Shanghai composite by 0.57 per cent.

A day earlier, Wall Street tumbled with the Dow registering its biggest quarterly fall since 1987 and the S&P 500 its steepest quarterly drop since a decade ago on growing evidence of the massive downturn the pandemic will incur. (ANI)