New Delhi/Mumbai:
Indian shares sank on Friday for a sixth straight session, capping their worst week in more than a decade, over fears that the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak could trigger a global recession.
The Sensex ended the week with a 7 per cent loss, its worst weekly setback since December 2009, with about Rs 12 trillion of investor wealth being destroyed during the period.
The Sensex dropped 1,448 points, or 3.6 per cent, to end at 38,297 — the lowest close since October 14, 2019 — while the Nifty plunged 432 points, or 3.7 per cent, to close at 11,202, their worst decline since the 2008-09 financial crisis.
Provisional data show, FPIs on Friday sold shares worth Rs 1,428 crore, extending their weekly selling to nearly Rs 11,198 crore.Buying by domestic institutional investors was strong on Rs 7,621 crore.
Global share markets were also sharply lower on Friday, marking their worst week since the 2008 global financial crisis and bringing the wipeout in value terms to $5 trillion.
“There are concerns that the outbreak will adversely impact … global supply chains big time, thereby affecting economic growth of most nations,” Ajit Mishra, vice president of research at Religare Broking, said in a note.
Even sectors like information technology tumbled despite a weaker rupee, indicating increasing anxiety amongst investors, he added.
Metals and mining stocks bore the brunt of Friday’s selloff on worries of exposure to China, the epicentre of the virus.
Meawhile,Wall Street stocks tumbled in opening trading Friday, suffering another steep decline as fears of an economic slowdown due to coronavirus again pummeled global markets.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down nearly 800 points, or 3.0 per cent, at 24,986.27. The index had shed more than 11 per cent this week heading into Friday's session.
The broad-based S&P 500 sank 3.1 per cent to 2,887.31, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index plunged 3.3 per cent to 8,285.87.