Mumbai, March 16: The Sensex opened 1,500 lower today on the back of weak global markets and continued to trade in the red terrain throughout the day. The BSE Sensex closed at31,390, down 2,713 points (8 percent). On the other hand, NSE Nifty closed 756 points down at 9,199, (8 percent). All the stocks were trading in the red. IndusInd, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were the maximum losers on the BSE, down over 8.5 percent.

The loses have extended as the fear around coronavirus continues to rise. According to the Health Ministry report, the total number of confirmed positive cases in Maharashtra rose to 38. It is one of the worst affected states in India amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to hold a media interaction at 4 PM today. It is widely expected that the central bank will cut rates and announce measures to boost sentiment.

The Asian stocks plummeted on Monday and the dollar battered after emergency rate cut in the United States. US stock futures fell 4.8 per cent to hit their down limit before daybreak in Singapore. COVID-19 Scare: US Federal Reserve Slashes Key Interest Rate to Zero Amid Coronavirus Pandemic.

On the back of the growing economic shutdown amid the global new coronavirus pandemic, the Federal Reserve announced drastic emergency measures to increase confidence and keep the financial sector running, including slashing the key interest rate to virtually zero.

The massive emergency step was taken to help the economy withstand the coronavirus blow by slashing its benchmark interest rate to near zero and saying it would buy $700 billion in Treasury and mortgage bonds.

(With additional inputs from ANI)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 16, 2020 03:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).