The blue-chip Nifty 50 stock index was likely to slip below the 10,000 level on Thursday after the coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic and as the United States’ suspension of all travel from Europe raised fears of further economic disruption.
The NSE stock futures listed on Singapore Exchange were down 4.44% by 0230 GMT.
A roughly 4.4% drop in the NSE Nifty 50 index would take it below 10,000 mark, a level it has not touched since March 2018.
US president Donald Trump on Wednesday announced the suspension of all travel from Europe, except from the United Kingdom, to the United States for 30 days starting on Friday.
The move rattled financial markets, with US stock index futures diving 4.7%, close to hitting their daily down limit, and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan tumbling 4.1% to its lowest level since early 2019.
The World Health Organization described the new coronavirus as a pandemic for the first time on Wednesday, adding that Italy and Iran were now on the frontline of the disease and other countries would soon join them.
Concerns over the fast-spreading virus have ravaged equities and disrupted supply chains as countries around the world grapple with how to contain the virus and its economic impact.
{{/usCountry}}Concerns over the fast-spreading virus have ravaged equities and disrupted supply chains as countries around the world grapple with how to contain the virus and its economic impact.
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