Sensex drops more than 600 points, Nifty at 9,218; rupee falls to 75.58 rupees in opening trade

Stock market today LIVE updates: Sensex falls more than 600 points, Nifty at 9,218; rupee falls to 75.58 rupees in opening trade

Asian stocks plummeted on Thursday after the head of the Federal Reserve warned of a US recession “significantly worse” than any recession since World War II due to the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, sentiments that pushed bonds higher in a security offer.

Fed President Jerome Powell issued his sober review of an economy hit by a record rate of job losses on Wednesday and preparing for a worse future, as most US states. USA They advanced toward reopening after blockades aimed at slowing the spread of the virus.

Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were down 0.92 percent, Australian S & P / ASX 200 futures were down 1.07 percent, while Japanese Nikkei 225 futures were up 0.05 percent.

“We are going back to what was a negative session in offshore markets, particularly New York,” said Ray Attrill, head of currency strategy for the National Australia Bank in Sydney.

A rejection against Powell’s “pessimistic assessments” of America’s economic risks and his rejection of the idea of ​​using negative interest rates as a tool for economic recovery “will extend to the Asia session,” Attrill said.

The top three Wall Street indices closed lower for the second consecutive day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.17 percent, the S&P 500 lost 1.75 percent and the Nasdaq Composite fell or 1.55.

Still, Powell played down the idea of ​​using negative interest rates that pushed the US dollar higher against a basket of currencies.

The US Dollar Currency Index, which measures the strength of the dollar against the six major currencies, rose 0.23 percent on the day to 100.26. The index fell as low as 99.57 earlier in the session.

Powell’s comments followed a sharp sell-off in equities on Tuesday after a warning from leading U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci that the virus was not yet under control. Fauci’s comments raised concerns about how the economy would emerge from weeks of virus-related crashes.

Authorities in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the new coronavirus emerged, launched an ambitious campaign to screen all of its 11 million residents, after a group of new cases raised fears of a second wave of infections.

But a decision by an independent board that oversaw billions of federal retirement dollars that would indefinitely delay plans to invest in some Chinese companies also helped fuel Wednesday’s decline.

Administrators froze the plan days after the Trump administration told it to “ stop all steps ” tied to changing its $ 40 billion international fund to track the ex-USA MSCI All Country World Unstable Market Index.

In the commodity markets, oil prices fell about 2 percent despite the first decline in US crude inventories. USA Since January, after Powell’s comments that a rebound may take a while.

The drop followed a previous recovery on optimism that the drop in fuel demand would recover, while producers have cut production to reduce excess supply during the pandemic.

World benchmark Brent crude was set at 79 cents, or 2.6 percent at $ 29.19 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the US benchmark, settled at 49 cents, or 1.9 percent, at $ 25.29 a barrel.

Yields on benchmark 10-year US Treasury bonds. USA They last fell 1/32 in price to yield 0.6525 percent, from 0.651 percent.

MSCI’s broader Asia-Pacific index of stocks outside of Japan rose 1.09 points, or 0.23 percent, to 471.99.