Ashishkumar Chauhan, the chief executive officer of S&P BSE Sensex, confirmed that the exchange will remain open.
NEW DELHI – Stock markets in India will remain open despite the 21-day nationwide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Ashishkumar Chauhan, the chief executive officer of S&P BSE Sensex, confirmed that the exchange will remain open.
“BSE day to day operations @BSEIndia will continue,” Chauhan tweeted.
A spokesperson of NSE Nifty 50 index also said operations would be normal at the exchange on Wednesday.
A government notification said all capital and debt market services notified by markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) would be exempted from the lockdown.
Shares closed 3% higher on Tuesday after Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government would announce an economic stimulus package soon to help battle the impact of the rapidly spreading coronavirus.
The US Federal Reserve’s move to roll out an unprecedented array of measures on Monday to help the world’s largest economy fight the pandemic also boosted sentiment.
The NSE Nifty 50 index closed 2.51% higher at 7,801.05, while the Sensex settled 2.67% higher at 26,674.34.
After Nirmala Sitharaman promised an economic package and an extension of some tax filing deadlines, both the indexes rose slightly over 5%.
Markets have tanked more than 30% so far in March, with major indexes suffering their worst single-day fall in history on Monday.
Covid-19, the coronavirus disease, has forced the government to push several states into lockdowns and impose stringent measures across the country.
India has so far registered more than 500 cases of coronavirus and reported nine deaths.
