Tracking a crash in global equities after the coronavirus outbreak was termed a global pandemic by World Health Organization, Indian indices were hit today by another big selloff with Sensex registering its biggest one-day fall in absolute terms. The Sensex tanked 2919 points to 32,778 – its biggest one-day point fall. The Nifty also crashed 8% to 9,633. The India VIX index, commonly referred to as the fear index, surged 30% to 41.32, indicating nervousness among investors. Broader markets also were witness to this mayhem. BSE midcap and smallcap index slumped about 8% each. Leading the slump were banking stocks, with Nifty Bank index tanking about 10%. Banking heavyweights like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and SBI fell between 9% and 12%. The Indian rupee (INR) today crashed to near a record low against the US dollar in the backdrop of a global risk-off sentiment. The rupee today fell to as much as 74.34 per dollar to near its record low of 74.48, a level hit in October 2018. Stock markets tumbled across the globe and oil prices slumped Thursday after President Donald Trump banned all travel from mainland Europe to the United States for a month to fight the coronavirus pandemic, ramping up fears of worldwide recession.
