A gloomy economic outlook from the US Federal Reserve on Thursday hit global markets with domestic indices feeling the pinch as well.

The Sensex crashed almost 709 points with hardly any good news back home as the number of coronavirus cases continued to mount. For the domestic investor, the latest developments come on the back of some optimism over the lifting of lockdown restrictions.

Market mavens now aver that stocks are likely to remain flat and that retail investors must exercise caution before making any fresh purchases.

Global markets crashed after the Federal Reserve said the US faces a “long road” to recovery even as it projected that the US economy would shrink 6.5 per cent this year and that the unemployment rate will be 9.3 per cent by the end of the year.

In India, telecom stocks also came under pressure as the Supreme Court heard matters on the AGR dues.

The 30 share Sensex hit a day’s low of 33480.42, a fall of 756.63 points, after which it settled down 708.68 points, or 2.07 per cent, to close at 33538.37.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty tanked 214.15 points, or 2.12 per cent, to close at 9902.

SBI plans

SBI will divest over 2 per cent stake for at least Rs 1,522.50 crore in its subsidiary SBI Life to comply with the minimum public shareholding norms, and will also decide on raising long-term fund up to $1.5 billion through bonds.