It was mayhem on Dalal Street today. Indian share markets traded deep in the red as Sensex posted its biggest one-day fall ever in absolute terms.
Benchmark indices crumbled after India went into the lockdown to contain the spread of Coronavirus pandemic.
In the early deals, trading was once again halted for 45 minutes as the Sensex hit a lower circuit limit of 10%. The sell-off continued when the trading resumed.
Note that this was the second instance of trading halt in a span of 10 days. Earlier, on March 13, Nifty hit lower circuit in the opening deals for the first time since May 2009.
At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 3,934 points (down 13.2%) and the NSE Nifty stood down by 1,135 points (down 13%).
The BSE Mid Cap index ended the day down 12.9%, while the BSE Small Cap index stood down by 12.3%.
All sectoral indices ended deep in the red with stocks in the banking sector, automobile sector and finance sector witnessing maximum selling pressure.
Asian stock markets finished on a mixed note. As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng was down by 4.9% and the Shanghai Composite was down by 3.1%. The Nikkei 225 was up 2%.
The rupee was trading at 76.08 against the US$.
For bluechip stocks, she believes the time is ripe to begin buying some of the safest bluechips as there is safety in valuations and the market is offering them at deeper and deeper bargains.
The profits of bluechips (BSE 200 companies) are currently at a decade low as can be seen in the chart below.
A Rebound in Profits Overdue?
In news from the automobile sector, shares of automobile companies witnessed huge selling pressure today as some of the country's top automakers took the lead in suspending production to safeguard its employees as Covid-19 continues to spread despite lockdowns.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) said it had suspended manufacturing at its Nagpur plant and would halt production at Chakan (Pune) and Kandivali (Mumbai).
Bajaj Auto is preparing itself for an eight-week halt. The auto major's MD and CEO, Rajiv Bajaj told that the company's plants at Akurdi, Chakan, Aurangabad and Pantnagar will shut from March 23.
In an interview to CNBC-TV18, he said, "safety of employees is paramount, we are preparing for an 8-week halt. We should all be focused on how to minimise the spread of the problem.'
Meanwhile, Maruti Suzuki said it was suspending production at its facilities in Haryana till further notice. The company's research and development centre at Rohtak would also remain closed, it said.
The company added that the government policy now requires closure of production and, accordingly, the company has taken a decision on production closure.
Bajaj Auto share price and Maruti Suzuki share price ended the day down by 14% and 17%, respectively.
Apart from the above companies, shares of Motherson Sumi Systems tumbled 20%. The company said it is well-prepared to deal with the crisis stemming from the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Meanwhile, Tata Motors and TVS Motors shed 10-14%, intraday.
In news from the commodity space, gold prices in India fell sharply today, tracking a decline in global rates. On MCX, April gold futures fell 1% to Rs 39,895 per 10 gram, after rising as much as to Rs 40,937 earlier in the session.
Gold prices in India have seen a sharp correction since hitting a record high of about Rs 45,000 per 10 gram.
In global markets, gold prices were lower today as investors rushed for cash despite announcement of stimulus measures by many central banks to limit the economic damage from the coronavirus outbreak.
On Friday, prices had risen as much as 3% as a wave of fiscal and monetary stimulus from central banks across the globe temporarily halted a run for cash.
In one of his videos, Vijay Bhambwani shares his view on gold and silver prices. He talks about how the bullion prices will move in the short term.
Moving on to news from the pharma sector, shares of Dr Lal Path Labs and Thyrocare Technologies soared as much as 17% in early trade today after the government allowed private laboratories to conduct blood tests for the coronavirus.
However, shares of both the companies pared gains and ended the day 10% lower.
According to the guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research over the weekend, all private laboratories that have National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories accreditation for real-time polymerase chain reaction assay for RNA virus will only be allowed to conduct Covid-19 tests.
Apart from the above companies, shares of IPCA Labs and Metropolis Healthcare surged in the range of 5-7%.
In other news, Glenmark Pharma's subsidiary - Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA has been granted tentative approval by the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for Dapagliflozin Tablets, 5 mg and 10 mg, the generic version of Farxiga Tablets, 5 mg and 10 mg, of AstraZeneca AB.
According to IQVIATM sales data for the 12 month period ending January 2020, the Farxiga Tablets, 5 mg and 10 mg market achieved annual sales of approximately US$ 1.8 billion.
Glenmark Pharma share price ended the day down by 11%.
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