Sensex opens at 34,472.50, down by 1224.90 points; Nifty at 9,958.70

In the opening session, Sensex plunged over 2,500 points on Thursday and Nifty was down 758.25 points – or 7.25 per cent – at 9,700.15. At 11:13 am, the Sensex traded 2,547.03 points – or 7.14 per cent – lower at 33,150.37. The rupee too plunged 82 paise to 74.50 against US dollar in the morning session. The selloff picked pace after the World Health Organization (WHO), late Wednesday night, termed the new coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic, and expressed deep concern over the “alarming levels of inaction”.

The 30-pack Sensex tanked 2,707 points to 32,990, its biggest-ever fall in absolute terms. Its NSE counterpart Nifty slipped below 760 points and was trading below 9,700. Stock investors lost Rs 10.98 lakh crore worth of wealth, reports ET.

Following the announcement, US President Donald Trump suspended all travel from Europe, excluding the UK, to the US for the next 30 days to stop the spread of the virus. Brent crude oil futures plunged over 5 per cent to USD 34 per barrel, after the travel ban.

Continuing its downward spiral, domestic BSE Sensex sank 1,821.27 points at open. The 30-share index was trading 1,652.54 points, or 4.63 per cent, lower at 34,044.86 in morning session. Similarly, the NSE Nifty cracked 486.75 points, or 4.65 per cent, to 9,971.65.

In the previous session, the 30-share BSE barometer settled 62.45 points or 0.18 per cent higher at 35,697.40, and the Nifty closed 6.95 points or 0.07 per cent up at 10,458.40. On a net basis, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 3,515.38 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 2,835.46 crore on Wednesday, data available with stock exchanges showed.