Sensex Tumbles 700 Points, Nifty at 9,185 Ahead of FM Nirmala Sitharaman's Next Address in Series of Announcements on Economic Package For India
The Indian markets opened on a negative note tracking the weak global markets. The markets reacted after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned of extended economic weakness due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mumbai, May 14: The Indian markets opened on a negative note tracking the weak global markets. The markets reacted after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned of extended economic weakness due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The losses have extended and the Sensex was trading at 31,276, down 736 points. Nifty, on the other hand, was trading at 9,185, down 200 points. The markets continue to drag in the red ahead of FM Nirmala Sitharaman's press conference at 4 pm, where she is expected to make more announcements on the economic package for India.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures slipped 0.92 per cent and Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures fell 1.07 per cent. However, Japan's Nikkei 225 futures rose 0.05 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.17 per cent, S&P 500 lost 1.75 per cent and Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.55 per cent. India's COVID-19 Tally Jumps to Over 78,000 With 3,722 New Cases and 134 Deaths in Last 24 Hours.
On Wednesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a press conference announced parts of the economic package for India to provide relief to people from the coronavirus impact. She said that loan guarantees worth Rs 4.5 lakh crore will be provided to small businesses, non-banking financial companies and power firms. She further announced provident fund and tax benefits for people as well as extended the due dates for filing income tax returns.
The tally of COVID-19 cases in India surged to over 78,000 with another major spike recorded over the last 24 hours on Thursday morning. The death toll, on the other hand, increased to 2,549.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 14, 2020 02:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).