Markets Highlights: Indices close for the weekend in green; Sensex ends 242 pts up, Nifty above 9,900

Indices recovered morning losses after an over 1,000-point plunge in Sensex in the opening session. D-street tracked world markets in their early decline as Wall Street plunged to near 3-month lows on Thursday. The Dow Jones fell nearly 6% at closing on Thursday as investors reacted to renewed fears of a pandemic resurgence and dire economic forecasts from the US Federal Reserve. With equities set to fall amid the grim economic outlook safe havens like the Yen, USD and Swiss Franc rallied, outshining gold. Stay tuned to DH Markets Live for updates.

Closing Bell: Sensex ends at 33,780.89 up 242.52 points or 0.72%, Nifty closes at 9,972

Markets see green flags. Sensex at 33,749.93, up 211.56 points, or 0.63%, Nifty at 9,963

Markets recover on back of strong buying interest in Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance and Asian Paints.

Rupee settles at 75.84, 7 paise lower against USD

Sensex pares most losses, nearly flat. Sensex now at 33,472.01, down 66.36 pts or 0.20%, Nifty at 9,874

Most losses pared, Sensex now at 33,386.19, down 152.18 pts or 0.45%, Nifty at 9,857.25

Most active stocks on Nifty based on volume

Most active stocks on Nifty based on value

Indices steady; Sensex now at 33,124.83 down 413.54 pts or 1.23% and Nifty at 9,761.35 down 140.65 pts, or 1.42%

Renewed virus fears hammer emerging Asian FX, shares

Indonesia's rupiah was the worst hit of Southeast Asia's emerging currencies on Friday, as rising domestic coronavirus infections and fears of a new wave globally sent stock and currency markets across the region sharply lower. The rupiah sank as much as 1.5% against the dollar and is on course for its biggest intraday fall since early May, while the Thai baht and Malaysian ringgit lost 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively. The central bank said it intervened in the spot and domestic non-deliverable forward markets to stabilise the rupiah. The currency last traded 1.2% weaker. Stock markets across the region also fell sharply, with Thailand among the worst hit, down 2%.

UK economy shrinks 20.4% during April lockdown

Official figures show that the British economy shrank by a colossal 20.4% in April, the first full month that the country was in its coronavirus lockdown.

The Office for National Statistics said Friday that all areas of the economy were hit, in particular pubs, education, health and car sales.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slid 1.2%, after a strong run-up in recent weeks.

Australian stocks dropped 1.57%, but shares in China erased losses to trade 0.03% higher after Beijing's pledge to continue with capital market reforms.

Japanese stocks drop to 1-1/2-week low on Wall Street rout, firmer yen

The benchmark Nikkei average settled 0.75% lower at 22,305.48, its weakest close since June 1, erasing some of the earlier losses on a positive lead from U.S. futures.

For the week, the Nikkei was down 2.4%, logging its biggest decline in seven weeks.

In the currency market, the safe-haven yen stood firm on renewed pessimism over a quick economic recovery, with the dollar/yen hitting 106.58 overnight, a level unseen in a month.

As a stronger yen hurts Japanese manufacturers' profits made abroad when repatriated, shares of export-oriented automakers remained under pressure, with Honda Motor shedding 1.8% and Subaru falling 1.2%.

Eastern markets have pared their morning losses by alteast 100 basis points, which is giving support to Indian markets.

The volatility in markets has surged as India VIX is up 6.95%.

Sensex now at 33,116.77, down 421.60 points or 1.26%, Nifty at 9,777

Rupee opens below 76-mark; 32 paise lower against US dollar

The Indian rupee, on Friday, opened below the psychological 76-markas the sell-off pressure from the foreign funds picked up due to the global equity meltdown.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 76.10 against the US dollar, down 32 paise. At the time of filing this copy, the rupee was trading at 76.07, down 29 paise.

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Volume toppers on BSE

Indices show recovery. Sensex now at 32,921.05, down 617.32 points or 1.84%

Rupee pares losses worth 12 paise. Now trading at 75.98 against US dollar

The total investor wealth, as of now, is lower by Rs 29.79 lakh crore (18.65%) from the peak level seen in January 2020.

After yesterday's and today's crash, the markets are back in the bear market territory -- down 22% from highest

As of now, for today, equity investors are losing Rs 2.37 lakh crore.

Among indices, BSE Small Cap is worst hit, down 2.54%. All indices in red.

The biggest loser on Sensex is IndusInd Bank (down 6.21%), followed by ONGC (down 4.5%), Axis Bank (down 4.05%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 3.91%), and ICICI Bank (down 3.85%). The only gainer, as of now, is Bharti Airtel, which is up 0.63%.

Rupee opens below 76 mark at 76.10, down 32 paise against US dollar.

Rupee likely to open below 76-mark

Pressure from FII sell off.

Global equities stumble as reality check hits

Indian equities, along with other major global equity markets, crashed onFridayas the markets wokeup to the harsh realisation that novel coronavirus pandemic and its impact may be far from over.

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Dow 30 futures is now up 357 points (1.42%), which might aid recovery in Asian stocks

Top Gainers/ losers on Nifty

Nifty Watch

Banks, Financial Services, Media and Auto stocks worst hit on Nifty 50

Indices show recovery. Sensex now at 32,725.11 down 813.26 points or 2.42%, Nifty at 9,667

All Sensex constituents, except for Sunpharma in red

Within minutes of trade, equity investors lost Rs 3 lakh crore of their wealth.

Sensex opens 1,102 points down, pares losses now at 32,660.57, down 877.80 points or 2.62%

Sensex crashes over 1,000 points in pre-open

Sensex now at 32,470.20, down 1068.17 or 3.18%
All constituents, except Nestle India, trading in red in pre open

After the Dow 30 meltdown a few hours back, all major far eastern Indices are in red.

Australian, Korean, Vietnamese and Singapore indices are the worst hit, crashing by over 3%. Japanese indices, on the other hand, are trading with losses in the range of 2%-3%.

Till June 10, the BSE Sensex had rallied by 32% from its March 23 lows

Till June 10, the BSE Sensex had rallied by 32% from its March 23 lows, in what can be seen as classic irrational exuberance at a time when corporate earnings have shrunk and country is going through one of its worst recessions in the history.
On the other hand, Dow Jones Industrial Average of US had rallied by 48% during the same time.
The bottom fishing by the investors, who were flush with liquidity due to massive stimulus packages announced across the globe led to this rally.

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Ahead of Indian markets opening, SGX Nifty has crashed by 271 points (2.74%).

Ahead of Indian markets opening, SGX Nifty has crashed by 271 points (2.74%). SGX Nifty is a derivative of the Nifty index traded on the Singapore Stock Exchange. Trading hours remain b/w 0630 hours and 2330 hours IST. Last night SGX Nifty had crashed over 5%

Gold steady as firmer dollar offsets risk-off sentiment

Gold prices held steady on Friday as downward pressure from a stronger dollar countered rising safe-haven demand supported by gloomy economic projections and renewed fears over a second wave in COVID-19 infections.

Australia, NZ shares a sea of red as virus fears resurface

Australian shares dropped 3% for a second straight session on Friday, tracking losses on Wall Street as investor fears over a possible resurgence of COVID-19 infections were aggravated by the dour outlook from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 3% or 177.5 points to 5,783.1 by 0044 GMT, having closed 3.1% weaker on Thursday. The index is set to fall nearly 2% this week, its biggest weekly drop since April 24.

Energy stocks plunged as much as 6.1% to their lowest level in three weeks and accounted for most of the losses on the benchmark as crude prices fell.

Shares of Oil Search Ltd and Worley Ltd slumped 8.3% each.

Financial stocks dived 4.6% to their lowest since June 3. The so-called "Big Four" banks lost between 3.5% and 5.4%.

Elsewhere, Australia's mining stocks dropped 2.8% as prices of iron ore, copper, aluminium and other industrial metals slumped.

Hong Kong stocks plunge more than two percent at open

Hong Kong stocks plunged in the first few minutes of trade Friday morning following a huge sell-off on Wall Street fuelled by worries about the economic recovery from lockdowns and on concerns about a second wave of infections in parts of the United States.

The Hang Seng Index tumbled 2.29 percent, or 559.45 points, to 23,920.70.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index sank 1.51 percent, or 44.09 points, to 2,876.80, and the Shenzhen Composite Index on China's second exchange dropped 1.99 percent, or 37.04 points to 1,828.26.

Safe-haven currencies gain on worries of lingering economic pain

The safe-haven Swiss franc and the yen held on to gains on Friday while the U.S. dollar also held firm against riskier currencies after global stock prices tumbled on renewed doubts over the prospects of a quick recovery in the global economy.

The Swiss franc rose to 0.94395 per dollar, having hit a three-month high of 0.9376 on Thursday.

The franc has recovered its lost ground against the euro over the past two weeks to trade at 1.0665 to the euro .

The yen also rose to 106.79 yen per dollar. It hit a one-month high of 106.58 on Thursday, having gained 3.1% from a 2-1/2-month low hit just a week ago.

Oil prices extend slump as coronavirus cases climb

Oil prices slid early on Friday, extending heavy overnight losses on a surge in U.S. coronavirus cases this week that has raised the prospect of a second wave of the outbreak slamming demand in the world's biggest consumer of crude and fuel.

West Texas Intermediate was down $1.32, or nearly 4%, at $35.02 a barrel by 0011 GMT, after slumping more than 8% on Thursday. Brent crude was down $1.15, or 3%, at $37.40 a barrel, having dropped nearly 8% the previous session.

A rally off April's lows has come to a shuddering halt this week as the market faced the reality that the coronavirus pandemic may be far from over globally, with cases in the United States alone passing 2 million this week.

Brent is heading for its first weekly decline in seven, dropping about 12%, while U.S. crude is heading for a loss of around 4% in its second consecutive weekly drop.

Tokyo stocks falls more than 2.8% after Wall St rout

Tokyo stocks dropped more than 2.8 percent in early trade following a plunge in US shares on revived worries about the coronavirus and concerns about overheating equity prices.

The benchmark Nikkei dropped 2.84 percent or 637.19 points to 21,835.72 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 2.85 percent or 45.35 points at 1,543.57.

In early trends of sentiment shift, foreign funds, that control about 30% of India's equity markets, were net seller for past two days -- selling a net of Rs 1,724 crore in two session. Prior to these session, they were net buyers everyday in June.

US stocks plunge on dire economic forecasts and pandemic resurgence

Wall Street tumbled in a broad sell-off on Thursday, with the Dow plunging well over 5%, as a cautionary economic forecast from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the prospect of a possible resurgence of COVID-19 infections put investors in risk-off mode.
The S&P 500 and the Dow were on course for their worst day since March 18, when markets were shocked by the abrupt economic lockdowns put in place to curb the coronavirus pandemic. The Nasdaq was set to snap a three-day streak of record closing highs.
At the conclusion of its two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve released its first pandemic-era economic outlook, after which Chair Jerome Powell warned of a "long road" to recovery.

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Conflicting US data

Foot traffic at retail stores last week was solidly within 20% of 2019 levels, according to cellphone data company Unacast, while time management firms Homebase and Kronos said more people were working across industries. At the April peak of social-distancing restrictions, activity was down in excess of 50%.

Weekly unemployment data pointed in the same direction on Thursday, with initial claims for jobless benefits falling last week and continuing claims declining for the week ended May 30, a possible sign that reopened businesses are bringing back some workers.

But the regional variation in the retail traffic numbers was striking. About a third of U.S. states, on a line from Montana southeast to Alabama, showed a full recovery, according to Unacast data.

Meanwhile, the coastal and mostly Democratic-leaning states that were hit earlier and harder by the pandemic have seen little rebound. Since a March 13 national emergency was declared, 19 states have not had a day in which estimated retail traffic reached 2019 levels. Fourteen of them are on the coasts.

Those states, however, on the whole have seen steadier progress in tamping down the growth in new coronavirus cases, according to a Reuters analysis of the week-to-week change in case growth.

Of three week-to-week changes measured over the last 28 days, states showing the least recovery in retail foot traffic reduced the growth in coronavirus cases an average of two of the previous three weeks. The average for other states was just 1.3 weeks of the past three.

The conflicting data around the path of the economic recovery and the trajectory of the virus will likely vex analysts and policymakers for weeks to come.

That puzzle was at the heart of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks following the end of the U.S. central bank's latest policy meeting on Wednesday. Powell said high unemployment could linger for years as the country wages a state-by-state, city-by-city fight to keep the virus at bay until a vaccine or other broad treatment is found.

Mexico's peso leads Latam FX lower while stocks sink

Mexico's peso was the biggest loser among Latin American currencies on Thursday, pushed lower by tumbling oil prices, with regional stocks falling in tow after the Federal Reserve's sobering assessment of a U.S. economic recovery. The dollar surged on safe-haven demand after the U.S. central bank said the impact of the coronavirus pandemic will be felt for years, quashing hopes of a quick recovery.