Markets Plunge: Navigating the Uncertainty, With Ridham Desai

The markets are not being irrational at the moment, says Ridham Desai, Managing Director at Morgan Stanley India.

A broker reacts while trading at a stock brokerage firm in Mumbai.

(Photo: Reuters)

The Indian benchmark indices plunged over 10 percent in the opening trade on Friday, 13 March, hitting their lower circuit levels, as new coronavirus-led recession fears triggered panic selling.

The stock exchanges had also halted trading for 45 minutes within 15 minutes for market opening.

According to market participants, volatility heightened in global markets as benchmarks the world over went into panic mode, triggering a manic selloff, PTI reported.

How does one navigate through the uncertainty right now? What are the near-term and medium-term consequences? Morgan Stanley India’s Managing Director Ridham Desai decodes the markets with BloombergQuint.

"Every crisis is different. We try to match it with history but it rarely does... Each market has its own character," Desai says.

The markets are not being irrational at the moment, Desai added, saying that "markets don't know where the trough of the fundamentals lie."

The fundamentals might be a bit clearer when the markets are aware of a cure or that the quarantine has worked for the coronavirus outbreak, Desai adds.

Meanwhile, equity benchmark Sensex rebounded over 4,400 points from the day's lows and the broader Nifty reclaimed the 9,800 level in afternoon session on Friday as investors scrambled to buy stocks at hammered valuations.

(With inputs from PTI.)