Mumbai:
Investor wealth worth over Rs 8 trillion was wiped off in early trade on Thursday as equity markets crashed amid global equity selloff after World Health Organization termed the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.
The Indian headline indices-Sensex and Nifty were both down 7 per cent each. The S&P BSE Sensex was down 2,555 points, or 7.16 per cent, at 33,140 levels, its lowest level in 17 months.
The equity selloff intensified after the World Health Organization (WHO), late Wednesday night, termed the the new coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic, and expressed deep concern over the "alarming levels of inaction".
Following the announcement, US President Donald Trump suspended all travel from Europe, excluding the UK, to the US for the next 30 days to stop the spread of the virus, stoking fear of a global economic slowdown.
HDFC Bank (down 7%) and Reliance Industries (down 8%) were the top contributors to the Sensex's fall today. Besides, Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank, and State Bank of India all tumbled over 10 per cent each.
The Nifty50 index opened below the crucial mark of 10,000 for the first time since March 26, 2018 and was trading around 32-month low level of 9,687, down 771 points, or 7.37 per cent. The index has now entered bear market after falling over 20 per cent from the recent high. All the Nifty sectoral indices were painted red.
The carnage on Dalal Street eroded investor wealth worth Rs 8,56,689.62 crore, taking the total m-cap to Rs 1,28,56,869.10 crore on the BSE at 1030 hours.
The m-cap of BSE-listed companies stood at Rs 1,37,13,558.72 crore at the end of trading on Wednesday.
Traders said besides global rout, incessant foreign fund outflows also weighed on investor sentiments.
On a net basis, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 3,515.38 crore on Wednesday, data available with stock exchanges showed.
On the BSE, 1,789 scrips declined, while 152 advanced and 57 remained unchanged.
Brent crude oil futures plunged over 5 per cent to USD 34 per barrel, after the travel ban.