Markets skid as stimulus euphoria fizzles out

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex plummeted 886 points on Thursday as concerns over the efficacy of the government's stimulus package and grim global cues hammered investor confidence.

After crashing over 955 points during the day, the 30-share index settled 885.72 points or 2.77 per cent lower at 31,122.89. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty tanked 240.80 points, or 2.57 per cent, to close at 9,142.75. Market players were disappointed as the immediate spend out of the government's Rs 20 lakh crore fiscal stimulus package was seen to be relatively small, raising doubts about the revival of growth any time soon, experts said. Further, global markets tanked following the WHO's comments that the novel coronavirus may never go away.

Tech Mahindra was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, cracking 5.24 per cent, followed by Infosys, HDFC, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries and NTPC. On the other hand, Hero MotoCorp, L&T, Maruti, UltraTech Cement and Sun Pharma led the gainers' chart, climbing up to 2.28 per cent.

"Indian benchmark indices wiped out all the previous session gains with Nifty ended below 9150 level due to unenthusiastic response to the relief package announcements made on Wednesday amid weak global cues," said Deepak Jasani, Head Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

Announcing the second tranche of economic stimulus measures post market hours, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said these will be for the benefit of migrant workers, street vendors and small farmers. BSE IT, energy, teck, finance, metal, bankex, oil and gas, power and realty indices lost up to 3.60 per cent, while healthcare, FMCG and capital goods closed with modest gains. The broader midcap and smallcap indices dropped up to 0.63 per cent. Asian markets were in the red after the World Health Organization warned that the novel coronavirus "may never go away". On top of that, US Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell warned of a 'highly uncertain' outlook for the world's top economy.