Markets suffered their worst single-day fall in absolute terms amid a global selloff as panic over the economic fallout of the coronavirus outbreak intensified. A 25% slump in oil prices also hit the risk sentiment. The NSE Nifty 50 index closed down 4.90% at 10,451.45. BSE Sensex ended 5.17% or 1,941 points lower at 35,634, wiping out nearly ?7 lakh crore of investor wealth.
The country’s markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, issued a statement on the market selloff, saying: “The perceived economic fallout from COVID-19 coupled with steep fall in global crude prices led to volatility in securities market.” The number of people infected with the coronavirus has topped 110,000 globally as the outbreak reached more countries and some experts have raised the spectre of global recession if the spread continues. Back in India the number of coronavirus cases has risen to 43. The rupee was down also ended at 74.08 against the dollar.