Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which was among the favourites of investors barely two weeks back cruising higher almost every day, had only ‘sell’ orders on Monday. Shares of the railways Ticketmaster were quoting at Rs 1,290.70, down 5 per cent as traders feared a rapidly spreading coronavirus could hit travel plans of domestic and international travellers.
13:25 PM: Saudi Aramco shares open 10% lower as oil price crash
Sensex and Nifty plummeted over 3.5% each in the opening session on Monday, led by a huge crash in global markets as rising cases of coronavirus threatened to lock down the global economy. Additionally, oil prices plunged 31% after Saudi Arabia slashed prices and set plans for a big increase in crude production in April. At home, Sensex crashed 1,515 points, or 4.03% to 36,061.61.
Last week saw financial markets experience increased volatility as stocks plunged amid fears that the coronavirus scare, which continues to spread across the globe, could drag down global growth. But things are only set to get worse this week.
Indian stocks are expected to witness a sharp fall once again today judging by the 2% fall in the SGX Nifty and the bloodbath in other Asian markets. The Nikkei is down over 6% this morning.
The price of oil has dropped by over 30%, the biggest fall since the 1991 Gulf war, as OPEC members Russia and Saudi Arabia have gotten themselves into an all-out price war that could go all out dragging the soaring numbers of stock exchanges down.
