Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices on Monday (February 10) witnessed profit booking amid weak global cues with the Sensex was down 162.23 points or 0.39% at 40979.62. The broader Nifty was also down 66.90 points or 0.55% at 12031.50. Major gainer on the Nifty included UPL, Bajaj Finance, TCS, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Reliance Industries, while Zee Entertainment, M&M, Tata Steel, Grasim Industries and Bharti Infratel were among major losers.
During early hours today, equity benchmark indices traded lower amid concerns over the impact of coronavirus on global economy. At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was down by 246 points to 40,896 while the Nifty 50 slipped by 69 points at 12,029.
All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the negative zone with Nifty metal down by 2.1 per cent and auto by 0.94 per cent. Among stocks, Tata Steel dipped by 3.9 per cent at Rs 452.30 per share while Vedanta was down by 1.9 per cent at Rs 141.85 apiece.
Auto stocks too slipped substantially with Mahindra & Mahindra down by 4.1 per cent, Tata Motors by 1.9 per cent and Eicher Motors by 1.3 per cent. Other prominent losers were ONGC, Coal India, Britannia, Zee Entertainment and Grasim.
Meanwhile, Asian stock markets traded lower amid ongoing virus outbreak impact on Chinese manufacturers. Reports said factories in China were set to return to work, but many are expected to remain shut for longer.
The Shanghai Composite down by 0.3 per cent, Hong Kong`s Hang Seng index slipped by 0.5 per cent, the Nikkei 225 declined by 0.21 per cent and South Korea`s Kospi also fell by 0.8 per cent.More than 900 people have so far died in China`s central Hubei province with most of new deaths in the provincial capital of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak.
The euro held near four-month lows at $1.0950. The dollar slipped against the yen to be on track for a second straight day of losses. It was last at 109.61 yen.
The Australian dollar, considered a liquid proxy for China plays, briefly hit an 11-year low of $0.6679. It fell 0.2% last week to clock its six straight weekly loss. That left the dollar index flat at 98.662.
Oil prices slipped as Russia said it would need more time before committing to output cuts along with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers amid falling demand for crude as China battles the coronavirus.
Since January 17, oil prices have fallen by 14% while copper has is down around 10%. Brent crude futures declined 52 cents to $53.95 a barrel, while US crude futures slipped 45 cents to $49.87 a barrel.
(With Agency Inputs)
