The last day of the first quarter began with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 posting modest gains. However, by the end of the day, US stocks declined. The Dow posted its most massive quarterly loss since 1987.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 1.84%.
- S&P 500 dropped by 1.6%
- The NASDAQ Composite Index lost 74 points and stood at 7710.10
- Dow Jones Futures are down by 1.86%
Asian stocks down, India’s BSE Sensex and Nifty take a dip
Investors lost significant amounts of capital as many of the stock markets around the world posted their worst ever quarters. The COVID-19 pandemic has already caused many financial markets to enter into a recession.
India’s BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 indices open low Wednesday. At the time of publication of this article:
- Nifty was down by 3.46%.
- The BSE Sensex was down by 3.45 % and stood at 28,451.80.
- Nifty Bank was down by 4.71%.
The plunge in the Sensex and the Nifty was mainly due to the massive fall in the Banking sector. Some of the major Indian banks such as the Kotak Mahindra Bank was down by 8% since its open on Wednesday, which is quite unusual.
The Pharmaceutical sector is, however, posting decent gains.
Biocon’s Managing Director, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, said that there would be a surge in Coronavirus cases in India, but there is no need to panic. Rapid measures are being taken both in terms of combating the pandemic as well as recovering the economy.
Stocks in focus are:
- Himadri Specialty Chemicals Ltd. is up by 13.58%
- Kotak Mahindra Bank is down by 9.52%.
- Reliance Industries Ltd. is down by 4.84%
Bitcoin declines, no signs of recovery in the near term
The Bitcoin declined by 2% and is currently trading at $6,303. BTCUSD has lately seen no significant volume in trading. Investors are dicey regarding the fate of the cryptocurrency. Analysts suggest that perhaps in this market of unprecedented volatility, it is prudent to stay out of highly risky instruments.
