Sensex Tanks 1,011 Points; Banking, Metal and Automobile Stocks Witness Selling

Tue, 21 Apr Closing

   Previous Close   

   Pre-Open   

   09:30 am   

   12:30 pm   

Indian share markets ended deep in the red today, tracking global peers, following a historic overnight plunge in oil futures' prices.

Further, US President Donald Trump's announcement that he would sign an executive order to temporarily suspend immigration into US dampened sentiment.

Investors were also cautious ahead of upcoming earnings reports and economic data. As many as seven companies including ACC and CRISIL are scheduled to announce their Q4FY20 results later today.

Barring healthcare stocks and telecom stocks, all sectoral indices ended on a negative note, with stocks in the banking sector, metal sector and automobile sector, leading the losses.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 1,011 points (down 3.2%) and the NSE Nifty closed down by 280 points (down 3%).

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index ended the day down by 2.7% and 3%, respectively.

Asian stock markets finished on a negative note. As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng was down 2.2% and the Shanghai Composite stood lower by 0.9%. The Nikkei was down 2%.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.4% at Rs 45,534 per 10 grams.

The rupee ended the day at 76.83 against the US$.

The domestic currency ended the day near record low levels amid heavy selling seen in the domestic equity markets on the back of drop in crude oil prices.

The rupee opened weak at 76.79 at the interbank forex market and then fell further to 76.83, down 30 paise over its last close.

The dollar gave up some gains against the currencies of oil producers after US crude futures pared some of their massive losses in Asia.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.2% to 100.15.

Note that the rupee had plunged to a record low against the dollar last week, hovering near the 77-mark. The weakness in the rupee was largely due to strengthening of the US Dollar against the basket of currencies as investors fled to safe haven greenback amid weakening risk appetite in the markets.

On a year-to-date (YTD) basis, the rupee has depreciated sharply against the US dollar. While it started the calendar year 2020 at 71.28 against the US dollar, it is currently trading at 76.83 against the US dollar.

This translates to a depreciation of around 7% for the domestic currency.

YTD Performance of the USD/INR

In a recent article titled The Sharp Fall in Indian Rupee: 6 Points to Know, we dive deeper and look at the factors behind rupee's depreciation.

We also reached out to Vijay Bhambwani, editor of Weekly Cash Alerts, who is closely tracking the Indian rupee in the current scenario. Here's what he has to say...

• The onset of Corona virus has not been kind to the INR.
  
  The Rupee futures (USDINR) opened in March at 72.36 and have closed at 76.61 on April 09 2020. That is a decline of 5.87% in 6 short weeks.
  
  The implications of the same will be widespread. India is a net importing Country. Everything that we import will now be more expensive. Approximately two thirds of all our imports are fossil fuels. Fuels are what we call multiplier effect commodities. If fuel prices rise at the petrol pumps, everything from fruits, vegetables, grains to dairy and poultry products get expensive.
  
  That impact will be felt at a later date. I expect the trickle down effect to start appearing in prices after the April-June quarter is over.
  
  I have already factored in this aspect in my statistical data model and plan to identify such events to generate profitable trading opportunities for my WCA plan subscribers.

Vijay has also talked about the Indian currency in a special edition podcast from Investor Hour. He shares what's around the corner for Indian rupee and how should position oneself for potential gains.

You can listen the entire episode here...

Speaking of ongoing stock market crash, our special report, How to Trade the Coronavirus Crash, is the most comprehensive report on how to trade the coronavirus, both from a short-term and long-term perspective. You can claim your FREE copy here...

Now, before we move on to other news, we would like to share that Equitymaster's birthday is around the corner. We will be starting our 25th year as an organisation tomorrow.

And on this 25th anniversary, we have something very special planned for you.

Make sure you sign up for our anniversary celebrations - we have lots of exciting bonuses in store for you.

Click here for more details...

In news from the banking sector, ICICI Bank share price was in focus today.

Shares of the private lender fell over 9% today after reports suggested the bank has exposure to Ocean Tankers, a unit of Singapore oil-trading firm Hin Leong Trading (HLT), that has filed for bankruptcy in Singapore.

Reportedly, ICICI bank has lent US$ 100 million to the company, out of which US$ 75 million is secured through inventory, said a report by The Economic Times.

The report said that Hin Leong and its sister company Ocean Tankers, which owns more than 100 cargo ships, have both filed for bankruptcy on Friday which will give 30 days to restructure debt.

Hin Leong founded by Chinese billionaire Lim Oon Kuin has total debt of close to US$ 4 billion which will have to be restructured.

According to news agency Reuters, founder Lim Oon Kuin had directed his employees not to disclose hundreds of millions of dollars in losses over several years.

Hin Leong's collapse comes even as global crude oil prices have fallen to a two decade low due to concerns over world demand following the coronavirus outbreak.

On Monday, US crude oil futures had collapsed below US$ 0 for the first time in history, amid a coronavirus-induced supply glut, ending the day at a stunning minus US$ 37.63 a barrel as desperate traders paid to get rid of oil.

It however rebounded today, with US crude turning positive after trading below US$ 0, but gains were capped amid unresolved concerns about how the market can cope with fuel demand decimated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking of stock markets and oil prices, in the video below, Ajit Dayal, founder of Quantum group, shares his views on the impact of the Coronavirus crisis and the oil price war on the Indian economy and the stock market.

You can check the same here.

Moving on to news from the pharma space, shares of Jubilant Life Sciences gained 5% intraday today after ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala increased his stake in the pharma company to 4.41% in the quarter ended March 2020.

As per the shareholding pattern available on exchanges, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala held 2.74% and 1.67% stake in the company through two accounts.

In the December quarter, he held a 3.45% stake in the company.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) also increased their stake in the company to 27.91% from 27.43% QoQ.

Jubilant Life Sciences share price ended the day up by 4%.

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!

Read the latest Market Commentary

Top Gainers TodayTop Gainers over 1-WeekTop Gainers over 1-MonthTop Gainers over 1-YearTop Gainers over 3-YrsTop Gainers over 5-YrsTop Losers TodayTop Losers over 1-WeekTop Losers over 1-MonthTop Losers over 1-YearTop Losers over 3-YrsTop Losers over 5-YrsOnly BuyersOnly SellersMost Active StocksMost Popular Stocks52 Week High Stocks52 Week Low Stocks

INDICESBSE (Rs 0 to 1)BSE (Rs 1 to 2)BSE (Rs 2 to 4)BSE (Rs 4 to 10)BSE (Rs 10 to 20)BSE (Above Rs 20)BSE - AllBSE-30BSE-100BSE-200BSE-500BSE AutoBSE BankexBSE Capital GoodsBSE Consumer DurablesBSE FMCGBSE HealthcareBSE ITBSE MetalBSE Oil & GasBSE PSUBSE TeckBSE RealtyBSE PowerBSE A GroupBSE B GroupBSE Mid-CapBSE Small-CapBSE Basic MaterialsBSE Consumer DiscretionaryBSE IndustrialsBSE UtilitiesBSE Sensex 50BSE Sensex Next 50BSE Bharat 22BSE 150 MidCapBSE 250 SmallCapBSE 250 LargeMidCapBSE 400 MidSmallCapBSE AllCapBSE LargeCapBSE SmallCap SelectBSE 100 LargeCap TMCBSE InfraBSE ManufacturingBSE CPSEBSE Private BankBSE Diversified FinancialsBSE MomentumBSE Low VolatilityBSE QualityBSE Enhanced ValueBSE Divident StabilityS&P BSE IPOBSE SMEIPOBSE 100 ESGBSE CarbonexBSE GreenexNSE (Rs 0 to 10)NSE (Rs 10 to 20)NSE (Above Rs 20)NSE - AllNSE-50NSE ITNSE Nifty Midcap 50NSE JR. NiftyNSE Bank NiftyNIFTY Next 50NIFTY 100NIFTY 200NIFTY 500NIFTY MidCap 100NIFTY SmallCap 250NIFTY SmallCap 50NIFTY SmallCap 100NIFTY LargeMidCap 250NIFTY MidSmallCap 400NIFTY AutoNIFTY Consumer DurablesNIFTY FinanceNIFTY FMCGNIFTY MediaNIFTY MetalNIFTY PharmaNIFTY Private BankNIFTY PSU BankNIFTY RealtyNIFTY Oil & GasNIFTY SME EmergeNIFTY CommoditiesNIFTY CPSENIFTY EnergyNIFTY India ConsumptionNIFTY InfraNIFTY MNCNIFTY PSENIFTY Serv SectorNIFTY100 Liquid 15NIFTY Midcap Liquid 15NIFTY Midcap 150 Quality 50NIFTY50 Equal WeightNIFTY100 Equal WeightNIFTY100 Low Volatility 30NIFTY100 Alpha 30NIFTY Alpha 50NIFTY Dividend Opportunities 50NIFTY High Beta 50NIFTY Low Volatility 50NIFTY200 Quality 30NIFTY 500 Value 50NIFTY 100 Quality 30SECTORSAgricultureAirlinesAluminiumAsset Management CompaniesAutomobilesAuto AncillariesBanks (Private)Banks (PSU)BankingCementChemicalsDefenceDiagnosticsDronesEngineeringElectric VehicleElectric Vehicle BatteryEnergy SourcesESGEthanolFertilizersFintechFMCGFoodGreen HydrogenHotelsInfrastructureInsuranceInvestment and FinanceInvITIT (Large)IT (Others)LogisticsMediaMetalMiningIndia's Big Tech StocksIndian PharmaMNC PharmaPSUPaintPaperPlasticPowerRating AgenciesReal EstateREITsRenewable EnergyRetailingSemiconductorShippingSteelSugarSupply ChainTelecomTextilesTravel Support Services

10 results 25 results 50 results 100 results All results

Indian Share Market Update: Top Gainers and Losers