Sensex tanks 1,000 points as oil crash sparks global sell-off

After hitting a low of 30,378.26, the 30-share index ended 1,011.29 points or 3.20 per cent lower at 30,636.71. Similarly, the NSE Nifty plummeted 280.40 points, or 3.03 per cent, to 8,981.45.

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex on Tuesday sank over 1,011 points on heavy losses in banking, IT and auto counters as historic oil plunge brought more unease into markets already reeling from coronavirus crisis.

After hitting a low of 30,378.26, the 30-share index ended 1,011.29 points or 3.20 per cent lower at 30,636.71.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty plummeted 280.40 points, or 3.03 per cent, to 8,981.45.

Top gainers and losers

IndusInd Bank was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, sinking over 12 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, M&M, Tata Steel, ONGC and Maruti.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Hero MotoCorp and Nestle India were the gainers.

According to traders, domestic market plunged following selloff in global equities as rout in crude market hit investor sentiment world over.

US benchmark oil West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for May delivery recovered to USD 1.10 a barrel.

With space to store oil scarce, WTI for May delivery plunged to USD 37.63 a barrel ahead of Tuesday's close for futures contracts -- when traders who buy and sell the commodity for profit would have had to take physical posession of it.

Brent crude contracts for June delivery was trading 20.30 per cent lower at USD 20.38 per barrel.

On Wall Street, stocks crashed after US oil prices turned negative on Monday for the first time ever.

Gobal Market

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended with significant losses.

Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading up to 2 per cent lower.

Further, concerns over mounting Covid-19 cases also kept investors jittery, traders said.

The death toll due to the pandemic rose to 590, while the number of cases in the country climbed to 18,601.

Global tally of the infections has crossed 24.7 lakh, with over 1.70 lakh deaths.

Rupee ends near record low

The rupee depreciated to close at a near-record low level of 76.83 per dollar.

The weakness in Indian currency came on the back of the crash in the US oil prices and slump in the domestic stock market, analysts said.

It depreciated 29 paise to close at 76.83 per US dollar. The record low level of rupee is 76.87 which it touched last Thursday.

Investor wealth drops Rs 3.30 lakh cr as equity markets tank

Investor wealth fell by Rs 3,30,408.87 crore after equity markets came under heavy selling pressure following sell-off in global stocks as rout in crude oil hit investor sentiment.

Led by the sharp fall in the index, the market capitalisation of the BSE-listed companies dropped Rs 3,30,408.87 crore to Rs 1,20,42,172.38 crore.

(PTI Report)