Fall in stock market due to fear amid coronavirus crisis: Principal Economic Advisor

Principal Economic Advisor Sanjeev Sanyal on Friday said that the fall in the stock market is a direct result of the prevailing environment of fear caused due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the country and the world.

New Delhi [India], Mar 14 : Principal Economic Advisor Sanjeev Sanyal on Friday said that the fall in the stock market is a direct result of the prevailing environment of fear caused due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the country and the world.

"The fall is due to the prevailing environment of fear amid coronavirus. There are some effects on the economy, but we have been taking measures since the beginning to contain its spread and minimise the impact," Sanyal told here.

He said that the central government is taking proactive actions to contain the spread of the infection, its impact on businesses, the market and the economy.

"We are taking responsible actions to contain the spread of coronavirus. We were one of the first countries that brought students and tourists back from other countries. After the situation worsens, we took more decisions to contain it," Sanyal said.

He stressed that coronavirus has affected business and trade.

"It has impacted business. We have a lot of imports and export with China and other countries. This has been affected. However, we are keeping a close eye on the matter. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had taken cognisance of the matter a few weeks ago and held several meetings with business persons and industrialists," Sanyal added.

He assured the investors not to fall prey to the environment of fear created by the pandemic.

Meanwhile, equity benchmark indices staged the biggest ever intra-day recovery on Friday after hitting a 10 per cent lower circuit for the first time since the 2008 global financial crisis.

So far, two deaths and 82 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported in the country.

( With inputs from ANI )