Correction may continue amid global sell-off

The Indian markets may continue their slide, following the fall in the US markets. The Dow plunged as much as 950 points early on Thursday, after US officials warned of virus spread. It partially recovered to 26,523, down 434 points, as of 12:05 am (IST). The US indices were set for their steepest weekly pullback since the global financial crisis. Meanwhile, oil prices tumbled for a fifth day on Thursday to their lowest since January 2019.

Indian stocks could continue their slide following the sharp fall in US markets overnight.

The Dow Jones plunged as much as 950 points in opening trade on Thursday, after US officials warned of the virus spread. It, however, recovered to trade at 26,717, down 240 points, as of 11.20 pm (IST).

The US stocks pared early losses, after the initial surge in angst (over the virus spread) that pushed US indices to their four-month lows. Bond yields remained at unprecedented levels.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average have tumbled this week by as much 10 per cent from their all-time highs set this month, a socalled correction.

Thursday’s 3.5-per-cent drop put the S&P on pace for its worst week since the 2008 financial crisis. The MSCI AllCountry World Index fell to the lowest since October, while the Stoxx Europe 600 also entered a correction.

MSCI’S broadest index of

Asia-pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.24 per cent lower, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 2.13 per cent.

Hong Kong stocks, however, reversed earlier losses to end higher, after Beijing indicated more support to bolster its economy.

At the close of trade, the Hang Seng was up 82.13 points or 0.31 per cent to 26,778.62. Meanwhile, China’s main Shanghai Composite index closed up 0.11 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.1 per cent to close trade at 2,054.89.