Stock markets in India crashed further in the afternoon session tracking their global peers. The BSE Sensex is trading down by 1,668 points and the NSE Nifty is trading down by 462 points. The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index are trading down by 3.7% and 4% respectively.
Among the sectoral indices, metal stocks, capital goods stocks and IT stocks are witnessing selling pressure.
In last Friday's podcast, we had shared a special episode from investor hour...
In this emergency episode of the Investor Hour, Rahul Goel talks to Vijay Bhambwani, who he calls India's #1 trader.
Vijay dives deep in this "coronavirus" situation and presents a picture which we believe would be extremely beneficial to any investor or trader.
They talk stocks, commodities, bullion and currency.
For each of these assets, they talk what's around the corner, and how one should position oneself for potential gains.
Whatever you do, don't miss this emergency issue of the Investor Hour!
Listen in here...
Towards the end, Vijay shares a very unique perspective on how to allocate assets. Don't miss that!
Moving on... India's foreign exchange reserves jumped US$5.4 billion in the week ended February 28 to hit a new all-time high of US$481.5 billion, following a sharp decline in Brent crude prices and decrease in trade from China and other countries in the wake of fear of spread of coronavirus.
Since 20 September 2019, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a cut in corporate tax rates, the reserves have been rising week-on-week, this was the 23rd consecutive week of rise.
The country's forex reserves have grown by US$53 billion since September 20, when they stood at US$428.5 billion.
The coronavirus outbreak, which poses threat to global economic growth, has resulted in a sharp decline in Brent crude oil prices, currently trading at around US$45.2 per barrel, the lowest since June 2017.
As per the reports, the decline in crude prices following the virus outbreak will help India as it will reduce India's annual import bill.
The fall in global crude prices has played an important role in keeping India's import bill under check and the coronavirus impact on world economy is likely to keep the prices lower.
In the news from the commodities space. Indian gold April futures rallied over 1% today tracking gains in the international market amid coronavirus fears and a plunge in crude oil hammered equities and sent investors scurrying for safe havens.
Spot gold rose 1.5% to US$1,699.2 per ounce, having touched its highest since December 2012 at US$1,702.5 earlier in the session.
Gold gained around 7% last week and this was the biggest weekly gain in gold in the last 11 years.
Speaking of gold, how lucrative has gold been as a long-term investment in India?
The chart below shows the annual returns on gold over the last 15 years...
As you can see, barring just two years - 2013 and 2015, gold has delivered positive returns in 13 of the last 15 years.
Here's what Ankit Shah wrote about this in one of the editions of The 5 Minute WrapUp...
Meanwhile, in one of his latest videos, Vijay Bhambwani shares his view on gold and silver prices. He talks about how the bullion prices will move in the short term.
You can check the same here: Will Gold and Silver Prices Fall because of the Coronavirus?
To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.
For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!
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