The Chinese virus has entered India. Its first case has been reported in Bengaluru. This has caused panic in the stock market. The BSE Sensex has fallen by more than 1,100 points. The Nifty is showing a decline of about 1.4%.
Panic in Stock Market
Amid reports of the virus outbreak in China, India's first HMPV case has been reported in Bengaluru. This caused panic in the stock market. The BSE Sensex has fallen by more than 1,100 points. Nifty is down by about 1.4%. The Sensex opened higher in the morning but investors panicked as the first HMPV case was reported in India. India VIX jumped 13% due to widespread selling in mid- and small-cap stocks as well as various sectors. The Sensex fell more than 1,200 points to hit an intraday low of 77,960, while the Nifty slipped close to the 23,600 level.
These business were in loss
PSU banks, real estate and oil & gas stocks were the biggest losers. Union Bank of India fell the most by 7%, while Bank of Baroda, HPCL, BPCL, Tata Steel, Adani Energy Solutions and PNB declined by 4-5%. HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries (RIL) and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the top losers on the Sensex. On the first day of the week, while investors were keeping an eye on third quarter results, as well as focusing on Donald Trump's second term in the US and geopolitical issues, news of the first case of HMPV being found in India left them in a tizzy.
Why the market fell
According to media reports, HMPV has been detected in an 8-month-old child in Bengaluru. ICMR has also confirmed two cases. These include a 3-month-old girl and an 8-month-old boy. However, the Health Ministry says that this is not a new virus. These cases increase due to change in weather. The Union Health Ministry has assured people that there is no reason to worry. India is closely monitoring the global HMPV situation through various channels.
Dr. V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said the market is likely to be influenced by negative factors impacting FII flows and some positive domestic factors that may support the market. External macro constructs remain unfavorable with the dollar index at 109 and the 10-year US bond yield at 4.62%. FII selling is likely to continue until yields fall and the dollar stabilizes.