Sensex Plunges Over 600 Points as Greece Crisis Rocks Global Markets: 10 Developments

Indian stock markets fell sharply on Monday and bond yields rose as Greece looked set to default on its debt repayment this week, sparking concerns about foreign selling in emerging markets.

Here is a 10-Point Cheat-Sheet

1) The Sensex opened 450 points in the red and was soon trading 600 points down, while the Nifty fell below 8,200 levels.In currency markets, the rupee fell to 63.90/dollar against Friday’s close of 63.64 while the euro fell almost 2 per cent against the dollar.

2) Stock markets pared losses in afternoon trade. The financial crisis in Greece may have an indirect impact on India and the government is in touch with the Reserve Bank to deal with the situation, said Finance Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi. (Read more)

3) At 12:48 p.m., the Sensex was down nearly 470 points to 27,341, while the Nifty fell to 8,228.

4) Greece closed its banks for a week and imposed capital controls on Sunday to check the growing strains on its crippled financial system, bringing the prospect of being forced out of the Euro into plain sight. Greek banks will remain closed until July 6 and ATM withdrawals will be limited to 60 euros ($65) a day in the same period. (Read more)

5) On the weekend, Greece failed to clinch a deal with its international lenders to avert a default. It must repay IMF $1.8 billion by Tuesday or be declared a defaulter. According to Reuters, twice-bailed-out Greece owes its official lenders as much as 242.8 billion euros ($271 billion). (Read: How much Greece owes to international creditors)

6) Greece has called for a referendum on July 5 to decide on cash-for-reforms terms proposed by its creditors. A no vote could increase Greece’s chances of exiting the Eurozone.



(Read: Greece crisis: Timeline of important events)

7) TS Harihar, chief executive and founder of HRBV Client Solutions Private, says the turmoil in the global currency and equity markets could hurt Indian markets in the short term.



(Also read: Fears of Greece leaving euro are fears of the unknown)

8) Market analyst Pashupati Advani is hopeful that the eurozone will be able to come to a settlement on the Greece crisis over this week. He however sees some buying emerging if the Nifty falls to 8,000 levels as Indian companies don’t have much export exposure to Greece.

9) Stocks to watch: In IT, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, HCL Tech and TCS have significant exposure to the Eurozone. Among auto or auto component manufacturers, Tata Motors, Bharat Forge and Motherson Sumi have significant European business. Among the metal pack, Tata Steel and Hindalco are also significantly exposed to the Eurozone.

10) Tech Mahindra, TCS, HCL Tech and Wipro were down between 1-2 per cent. The selloff was stronger in auto stocks. Motherson Sumi fell 4 per cent, Bharat Forge 5.32 per cent and Tata Motors 3 per cent. Tata Steel and Hindalco fell 2-3 per cent.