Markets Crash On Global Trade War, Nifty Tanks Below 10,000, Sensex Plunges 500 Points

Markets fall worldwide on fears of global trade war Sensex falls over 500 points to trade at 32,501 points Bond prices rose as jittery investors sought security away from stocks

Sakshi Denis

23 Mar 2018, 04:34 PM IST

Mr Trump signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs on import of about $60 billion of Chinese goods.

In the 30-share Sensex pack, 28 stocks trade in red. At 12.20 pm, Sensex falls over 500 points to trade at 32,501 points, while Nifty loses 153 points, or 1.51%, to touch 9,962 points. The biggest losers are Tata Steel (3.83%), Yes Bank (3.69%), SBI (3.23%), Axis Bank (3.54%), Bajaj Auto (3.23%). The only gainers among Sensex stocks are Infosys and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) which trade marginally higher against the previous day's closing. The closing values of benchmark market index in this week were 32,923, 32,996, 33,136 and 33,006 points. For the second consecutive day in a week, the markets are falling on Friday, that too with the widest margin.
Bond prices rose as jittery investors sought security away from stocks. The 10-year bond yield was at 6-week low as it traded at 7.53 per cent.
"Options data suggest everyone is betting on 10,000 mark. We may expect Nifty to test 10,000 mark very soon. The break of the same may create panic which may lead to further escalation towards the 9,700 mark. Traders are expected remain bearish on the market until and unless Nifty closes above 10,350 level," said Dyaneshwar Padwal, AVP Technical Analyst, KIFS Trade Capital.
In the sectoral space, metal stocks led the fall on the Nifty as the Nifty Metal index shed 2.54 per cent. Experts were also cautious on banking stocks, which traded 2 per cent lower at 9:44 am.
"Bank Nifty failed to hold its bounce and slipped towards 24,100. It formed a bearish candle on the daily chart. Now, if it fails to surpass 24,350 and slip below 24,000, then weakness could extend towards 23,800 and lower zones while on the upside, hurdles exist at 24,350 then 24,500," said Chandan Taparia, Associate Vice President, Analyst-Derivatives, at Motilal Oswal Securities Limited.
Mr Trump , on Thursday, signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs on import of about $60 billion of Chinese goods. The order came. Beijing, on Friday, requested the US to ease these measures.
At 9:02 am, China's Shanghai Composite Index traded at 3,156.89 with a loss of 106.59 points while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 852.28 points at 30,225.04 level.
In overnight trade in the US markets, the Dow Jones closed 724.42 points lower at 23,957.89, the broader S&P 500 shed 68.24 points to end at 2,643.69 level.
Meanwhile, in the currency market, crude was rushing towards the $65 a barrel mark. Brent crude futures were at $69.64 per barrel, up 73 cents, or 1.1 per cent, according to news agency Reuters.
The rupee traded 3 paise lower at 65.18 against the US dollar.