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Sensex Crashes 893 Points; Banking Stocks Bleed
Fri, 6 Mar Closing

It was mayhem on Dalal Street today. India share markets traded deep in the red today, tracking a sell-off in global markets as a new wave of fear about the spread of the coronavirus and its economic impact gripped investors.

The BSE Sensex cracked over 1,450 points in opening trade while the NSE Nifty plunged below the 10,900-mark at one go.

Selling pressure also intensified as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday superseded the board of Yes Bank and imposed a 30-day moratorium on it in the absence of a credible revival plan.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 893 points (down 2.3%) and the NSE Nifty stood down by 289 points (down 2.6%).

The BSE Mid Cap index ended the day down 2.4%, while the BSE Small Cap index stood down by 1.9%.

All sectoral indices ended in the red with stocks in the banking sector, realty sector and metal sector leading the losses.

The rupee was trading at 73.80 against the US$.

Asian stock markets finished on a negative note. As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng was down by 2.32% and the Shanghai Composite was down by 1.12%. The Nikkei 225 was down 2.72%.

European markets were also trading on a negative note. The FTSE 100 was down by 2.81%. The DAX was trading down by 3.36%, while the CAC 40 stood down 3.61%.

Speaking of the current stock market scenario, market participants are seen taking flight to safety as stock markets see a sharp fall post the Coronavirus impact.

Here's what Tanushree Banerjee wrote about the situation in a recent edition of The 5 Minute WrapUp...

  • While manufacturers dependent on China are expected to take a hit globally, the short-term impact is also likely to be felt on sectors like travel and tourism.

    In the long-run though, India could emerge as a long-term alternative to the world's supply needs.

    A potential megatrend that I will be keenly keeping an eye...

Tanushree is counting on 7 top stocks from the Indian stock market that will benefit from this megatrend.

As per her, now is the right time to buy these stocks to profit from the Rebirth of India. You can read about them here.

Also, in here latest video, she has recommended steps to buy multibaggers stocks of the next decade amid the current stock markets correction.

Tune in to find out more...

In news from banking sector, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) decision to put YES Bank under moratorium led to the biggest ever fall in shares of the private lender. Two hours into the trading hours, the stock extended its slide to 85% today, as it hit a low of Rs 5.55. This was the biggest slide for the stock ever.

RBI said it has superseded the board of YES Bank for a period of 30 days, owing to serious deterioration in the financial position of India's fifth largest private bank.

The RBI expects to arrive at a credible restructuring plan in the next few days.

The RBI action follows the lender's inability to raise funds that would have helped it provide against loan losses. Prashant Kumar, former deputy managing director at State Bank of India (SBI), will be the administrator of Yes Bank.

Depositors will be restricted to a maximum withdrawal of Rs 50,000 even if they have multiple accounts, a government gazette notification said.

RBI will relax the withdrawal limit in the event of medical emergencies, higher education fees or marriage expenses - up to a cap of Rs 5 lakh. Drafts and pay orders issued so far will be paid in full, the reports noted.

Risk-averse market participants also fled the equity markets as cascading effect of the above decision was seen everywhere. Banking indices also witnessed huge selling pressure.

Tanushree Banerjee has offered some facts and insights on Yes Bank in today's edition of The 5 Minute WrapUp. You can check the same here: Should You Buy Yes Bank or Short SBI?

Moving on to news from commodity space, gold was witnessing huge buying interest today. The yellow-metal was on track to post its biggest weekly gain since late October 2011, over fears that the global Coronavirus outbreak could deal a hard blow to the world economy.

The metal has gained as much as 5.5% so far this week as worries over the coronavirus sent investors scurrying for safe-havens, with the US Federal Reserve issuing an emergency 50 basis point interest rate cut on Tuesday.

Note that 2019 proved pretty good for gold, as gold surged amid fears of a possible slowdown in global growth and uncertainty surrounding geopolitical crisis in West Asia and Britain's divorce from the European Union.

The same uptrend is also seen in 2020 so far.

Gold prices are seen rising as the rapid spread of coronavirus cases outside of China and its potential negative impact on the global economy are prompting investors to take refuge in safe haven assets like gold.

Increase in the number of new coronavirus cases outside China over the past few days have bolstered the safe haven appeal of gold. South Korea, Italy and Iran have logged sharp increases in infections and deaths, while several countries in the Middle East reported their first cases of coronavirus.

The international spot gold prices have rallied to seven-year highs while India's domestic gold prices rallied to all-time highs.

Speaking of gold, how lucrative has gold been as a long-term investment in India?

The chart below shows the annual returns on gold over the last 15 years...

Gold Has Been a Shining Long-Term Investment

As you can see, barring just two years - 2013 and 2015, gold has delivered positive returns in 13 of the last 15 years.

Here's what Ankit Shah wrote about this in one of the editions of The 5 Minute WrapUp...

  • In fact, gold has delivered double-digit gains in 10 of the last 15 years.

    During the entire 15-year period, gold has shot up 555% (compounded annual return of 12.1%).

    During the same period, the Sensex surged 511% (compounded annual return of 12.0%). If you include dividends, the Sensex returns would be higher than gold by a couple of percentage points.

    One must note that the Sensex returns are not representative of the broader market returns. Moreover, gold was a no-brainer. You didn't have to study financial statements, business models and forecast future earnings growth to get a double-digit return on your investment.

Meanwhile, in one of his latest videos, Vijay Bhambwani shares his view on gold and silver prices. He talks about how the bullion prices will move in the short term.

You can check the same here: Will Gold and Silver Prices Fall because of the Coronavirus?

And 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


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