INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Anxiety over rapid spread of the deadly coronavirus in China weighed on Indian stocks on Thursday as equity indices opened with
losses.
China's National Health Commission said on Thursday the total number of confirmed deaths from the coronavirus in the country
climbed to 170 as of late Wednesday, as the number of infected patients rose to 7,711.
BSE benchmark Sensex lost 147.50 per cent to 41,051
while NSE flagship Nifty slipped 50 points to 12,079
Broader market indices traded in-line with their headline peers
Nifty Smallcap was down 0.49 per cent to 6,297 and Nifty Midcap shed 0.30 per cent to trade at 18,219
Nifty 500 was down 0.35 per cent to 9,974.
Barring Nifty Realty, which was up 0.11 per cent 328.85, all sectoral indices were trading with
Nifty Metal was the biggest loser, down 0.95 per cent to 2,640
Nifty Private Bank and Nifty PSU Bank each skid 0.55 per cent.
In the 30-share pack Sensex, NTPC was the biggest gainer, up 0.97 per cent to
Its PSU peer, Power Grid, also added 0.44 per cent to Rs 193.20
Hero Moto, TCS and HCL Tech recorded marginal gains in early trade.
Tata Steel was the biggest loser in the pack, down 2.17 per cent to Rs
RIL and IndusInd Bank were among other major losers, falling over 1 per cent.
Shares of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation declined nearly 5
per cent to Rs 13.60 after reports that the company has siphoned-off nearly Rs 13,000 crore through one lakh fake borrowers.
Globally, Asian
stocks slipped, while gold and bonds were in demand, as worries about the spread of a new virus from China sent investors heading for
safety.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.8 per cent to an almost seven-week low
Japan's Nikkei fell 1 per cent
Hong Kong's Hang Seng extended Wednesday's drop and Taiwan's benchmark index opened 1.5 per cent lower in its first session since the
Lunar New Year break.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, as expected, although bank Chairman Jerome
Powell's comments about a low inflation outlook added to US government bonds' appeal.
Yields on benchmark 10-year US Treasuries, which
fall when prices rise, tumbled nearly 9 basis points overnight to 1.5790 per cent, and drifted lower to 1.5750 per cent in Asian trade, not
far above a three-month low of 1.5700 per cent hit on Tuesday.
