Mumbai, May 18: The markets opened in the negative zone and trading in the red for the entire day. The Sensex tanked 1,068 points to 30,028. Nifty, on the other hand, was at 8,823, down 313 points as the closing figures on Monday. The fourth phase of the lockdown kickstarted today and will be in place till May 31, 2020. According to the new guidelines, the delineation of red, orange and green zones will be decided by respective states and Union Territory governments after taking into consideration the parameters shared by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The number of coronavirus cases witnessed the highest ever spike of 5,242 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours and 157 deaths were reported in the time frame. The total number of COVID-19 cases have touched 96,169 and the death toll, on the other hand, mounted to 3,029. India Records Highest Single-Day Spike of 5,242 COVID-19 Cases in Past 24 Hours, Total Coronavirus Tally Reaches 96,169, Death Toll Mounts to 3,029.

In economic data, U.S. retail sales fell 16.4 percent in April, the Commerce Department reported, as businesses remained all but shut down. Excluding autos, sales still dropped by 16.2 percent. The sentiments slightly improved by the news that the House of Representatives was set to vote on another $3 trillion coronavirus package that could be the opening bid in another round of fiscal stimulus.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 18, 2020 04:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).