Spike in coronavirus cases coupled with surprise Yes Bank fiasco, domestic equity market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty were trading nearly 4 per cent lower on Monday. RIL, HDFC twins, ICICI Bank, Infosys and TCS were among the major contributors towards today’s fall. “Given the volatility and fearful psychology, market participants are likely to drift away and reduce their exposure to equities till clarity emerges on financial distress (Yes Bank and COVID-19). Markets are expected to remain low with subdued interest and little activity from active investors,” Jimeet Modi, Founder & CEO, SAMCO Securities & StockNote said. S&P BSE Sensex extended losses to trade at 36,094 points, down 1481 points or 3.94 per cent, while the broader Nifty 50 index slipped below 10,600, down 407 points or 3.70 per cent.

All 30 Sensex stocks trade in red- All 30 Sensex stocks were trading with deep cuts on Monday, with ONGC as the top index loser down 12 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, RIL, LT and Tata Steel.

Nifty Metal index down over 5.5%- All the Nifty sectoral indices were trading lower in Monday’s trade. The Nifty Metal index was trading 5.59 per cent lower dragged down by Welspun Corp, Vedanta and Jindal Steel. Similarly, the Nifty Bank index was down 1,071 points weighed by RBL Bank, IndusInd Bank, Federal Bank and ICICI Bank.

Oil prices plunge 30%- Oil fell by the most since 1991 on Monday after Saudi Arabia started a price war with Russia by slashing its selling prices and pledging to unleash its pent-up supply onto a market reeling from falling demand because of the coronavirus outbreak. Brent crude futures fell by as much as $14.25, or 31.5 per cent, to $31.02 a barrel, Reuters reported.

Confirmed cases of coronavirus in India reach 41- Kerala reported five more positive cases taking the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in India to 39 which later increased to 41 on Monday morning after a man in Jammu and Kashmir and a three-year-old child from Kerala were tested positive for Coronavirus.

Global markets- Asian stocks sank on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei fell 4.7 per cent and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 3 per cent, while Shanghai blue chips dropped 2.1 per cent. On the Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 256.5 points, or 0.98 per cent, to 25,864.78, the S&P 500 lost 51.57 points, or 1.71 per cent, to 2,972.37, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 162.98 points, or 1.87 per cent, to 8,575.62.

Yes Bank fiasco- Yes Bank shares soared over 30 percent in the opening deals on Monday after reports suggest that State Bank of India (SBI) has been allowed to pick up 49 per cent stake in the cash-strapped private sector lender Yes Bank.