Rate cut fails to hold up markets; Sensex dips 1,310 pts from day’s high

28/03/2020

NEW DELHI: Equity market ended Friday's highly volatile session on a subdued note even as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in an emergency move, slashed the repo rate by a huge 75 basis points (bps) to arrest the potential downturn in the economy due to coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
In addition, the RBI imposed a moratorium on principal and interest payments for three months and told banks and non-banking finance companies that that non-payment won’t be considered as non-performing assets (NPA).
The S&P BSE Sensex closed at 29,816, down 131 points or 0.44 per cent, with Axis Bank (up 5 per cent) being the top gainer and Bajaj Finance (down 9 per cent) the worst performer. Besides Bajaj Finance, stocks that were the major contributors to the Sensex's fall included Bharti Airtel (down 6 per cent), HUL (down 3 per cent), and HDFC Bank (down 1 per cent).
NSE's frontline index Nifty50 ended at 8,660, up 19 points or 0.22 per cent.
On the sectoral front, auto stocks slipped the most, thus snapping their three-day gaining streak. The Nifty Auto index ended around 2.5 per cent lower at 4,939 levels. On the other hand, private banks gained the most with the Nifty Private Bank index ending 1.72 per cent higher at 10,738 levels.
Volatility index India VIX eased 0.77 per cent to 70.97 levels.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended at 10,538, up 0.29 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended 0.28 per cent higher at 9,497 levels. European shares tumbled in early trading on Friday after a stunning three-day rally sparked by hopes of more aggressive stimulus to shore up the global economy ravaged by the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Asian stocks, on the other hand, rose as investors wagered policymakers will roll out more stimulus measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic after US unemployment filings surged to a record.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei rose 3.88 per cent, capping its biggest weekly gain on record.
Australian shares gave up gains to fall 5.3 per cent after a strong week.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 reversed course and fell 0.88 per cent following three consecutive days of gains in the S&P 500 on Wall Street.
In commodities, oil prices were mixed as governments took unprecedented steps to limit the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Gold edged lower as investors booked profits, but was set for its best week since December 2008.

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