Stock exchanges BSE and NSE today (March 23, 2020) halted trading for 45 minutes within less than an hour of the market opened. Trading had to be halted in Indian markets on Monday as Sensex plunged down 3,100 pts, Bank Nifty too plunged 14% due to the coronavirus pandemic. This is the second time in two weeks trading in the Indian markets had to be halted temporarily. On March 13, trading in the stock market had to be temporarily halted after a sharp fall, the first after around 12 years.
Panic over the fast-spreading coronavirus sent Asian equity markets crashing amid fears of a global recession. Wall Street has hit circuit limit multiple times this month, triggering temporary trading halts.
The Sensex opened 2,307.16 points lower at 27,608.80 and the Nifty started the day at 7,945.70, down 799.75 points from its previous close. A deep selloff across sectors like banking, auto, and metal stocks has hurt the markets. This is due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus outbreak forced more countries to declare lockdowns, hurting businesses.
Shares of Axis Bank crashed 20% on the Nifty 50 index, followed by ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank and Adani Ports, down 15% each. Hero MotoCorp traded more than 14% lower.
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