Dalal Street Black Friday: Markets Recover Slightly as Trading Resumes After Halt of 45 Minutes

New Delhi: Nifty trading on Friday was halted for 45 minutes as the market fell over 10 per cent in the initial trade. According to Sebi rules, if the index —be it Nifty or Sensex — moves 10 per cent before 1 PM, trading will be stopped for 45 minutes. The markets opened on a weak note after a bloodbath on Thursday. Soon after Nifty trading was halted, BSE Sensex also stopped trading. After 45 minutes, trading resumed and Sensex was down by over 3,500 points. As the trading proceeded, the markets slightly recovered

Panic Selling

After the World Health Organisation declared coronavirus as a pandemic, markets witnessed panic selling. The panic was heightened after India reported its first coronavirus-linked death on Thursday. A 76-year-old Karnataka man who died on his way from Hyderabad to Kalaburgi had coronavirus. On Thursday, markets crashed after US President Donald Trump banned all travels from Europe to the United States. On Friday, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s wife Sophie Trudeau was tested positive.

Fall in oil prices

Oil prices fell on Friday for a third day, with Brent crude set for its biggest weekly drop since 1991 and US crude heading for the worst week since 2008 as panic about plunging demand from the coronavirus outbreak grips the market.

Brent crude was down 67 cents, or 2%, at $32.55 a barrel by 0126 GMT after falling more than 7% on Thursday. For the week, Brent is set to fall 28%, the biggest weekly decline since the week of Jan. 18, 1991, when it fell 29% at the outbreak of the first Gulf War. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 66 cents, or 2.1%, at $30.84 after falling more than $1 earlier.