Odishatv Bureau

Mumbai: Freefall in the Indian stock markets resumed on Friday as both Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange and the BSE Sensex hit their lower circuit and trading was halted for the next 45 minutes.

The BSE Sensex fell over 3,000 points to trade at below the 30,000 mark.

The index is currently at 29,687.52, lower by 3,090.62 points or 9.43 per cent from the previous close of 32,778.14.

It touched a low of 29,564.58 points so far.

Nifty50 on the NSE is at 8,624.05, lower by 966.10 points or 10.07 per cent from its previous close.

Also Read: Sensex Tanks 2400 Points, RIL Logs Worst Fall In 10 Years

The US stocks also extended losses on Thursday with the Dow plunging more than 2,300 points, or about 10 percent, at the close amid coronavirus fears.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2,352.60 points, or 9.99 per cent, to 21,200.62. The 30-stock index had its biggest one-day percentage drop since the 1987 Black Monday market crash, when it collapsed by more than 22 per cent, Xinhua reported.

The S&P 500 decreased 260.74 points, or 9.51 percent, to end at 2,480.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 750.25 points, or 9.43 per cent, to 7,201.80.

The S&P 500 declined 7 per cent shortly after Thursday's opening bell, triggering a key circuit breaker that halted trading for 15 minutes. It was Wall Street's second 15-minute halt this week.

Earlier yesterday, the Indian stock market entered the bear zone as the indices fell over 22 per cent from their all-time highs. The BSE Sensex registered its biggest single-day fall of over 2,900 points.

The Sensex closed at 32,778.14, lower by 2,919.26 or 8.18 per cent from its previous close of 35,697.40. It had opened at day's high of 34,472.50 and fell 3,200 points to touch an intra-day low of 32,493.10.

A bear market is a condition when a security price falls 20 per cent or more from its recent high.

The plunge was in line with the global markets as all Asian indices also traded in the red after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus a global pandemic following which the Dow Jones Industrial Average also slumped significantly on Wednesday.

The bear run in both the global and domestic markets has continued off late on concerns of the coronavirus outbreak severely impacting the global economy. It has also raised calls for government intervention and support.

Central banks in several countries, including the US Federal Reserve have announced emergency rate cuts to boost sentiments. However, the concerns have only deepended in the past few days as the number of COVID-19 cases across the world has increased.

Further, following the rout in the global markets oil prices also fell on Thursday with the Brent crude trading around $33.6 per barrel. The Indian rupee also felt the pressure and touched a 17-month low of 74.34 per dollar in its initial trade.

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