Bengaluru: Indian stocks have plunged nearly 7 per cent on Thursday as unabated panic over the coronavirus pandemic eclipsed steps taken by global central banks to arrest the economic fallout from the outbreak.
The NSE Nifty 50 index slipped below the 8,000 level to hit a near four-year low. The index was down 7.2 per cent at 7,861.70, while the S&P BSE Sensex was 7.1 per cent lower at 26,820.58. The Nifty is 36.8 per cent off its all-time high hit on January 20.
“Nothing much has changed. Panic is the overriding emotion right now,” said Anand James, chief market strategist at Geojit Financial Services in Kochi.
In domestic trading, the Nifty Auto Index plunged 6.5 In domestic trading, the Nifty Auto Index plunged 6.5%, while the Nifty bank index slipped nearly 8 per cent.
The rupee hit a fresh record low of 75.0100 against the dollar, as a flight into cash and worries about tightening liquidity boosted demand for the world’s reserve currency.
