MARKET WRAP: Sensex slips 214 pts, Nifty ends at 11,251; pharma, IT advance

All that happened in markets today

Equity market once again came under heavy selling pressure on Wednesday after Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the number of confirmed cases in India have risen to 28. "So far India has reported 28 positive coronavirus cases, this includes 16 Italians," the minister said. READ MORE
 

Reacting to this, benchmark indices tumbled around 2 per cent during the day; however, they witnessed sharp recovery towards the end of the session, but still ended in the negative territory. The S&P BSE Sensex settled at 38,409, down 214 points or 0.55 per cent. Of 30 stocks, 13 advanced while 17 declined. 

NSE's Nifty50 ended above 11,200 level at 11,251, down 52 points or 0.46 per cent. 28 out of 50 stocks ended in the red and rest 22 in the green. 

Fear guage India VIX closed at 24.23, down over 1 per cent. 

Market breadth remained in favour of sellers as out of 2,534 companies traded on the BSE, 1,706 declined and 696 gained while 132 remained unchanged.  

Broader market took deeper cuts. The S&P BSE MidCap index cracked 338 points or over 2 per cent to 14,425 while S&P BSE SmallCap ended at 13,427, down 346.5 points or 2.5 per cent.

Sectorally, pharma stocks gained the most, followed by IT counters. However, bank, metals and media stocks slid. 

Global Markets 

Asian shares struggled to find their footing on Wednesday and bonds held stunning gains, as an emergency rate cut from the US Federal Reserve seemed to stoke rather than soothe fears over the coronavirus’ widening global economic fallout. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2 per cent, though most of the gains were confined to South Korea where the government announced a big stimulus package.

Japan’s Nikkei closed flat, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.7 per cent. Stocks in Hong Kong and China traded either side of flat.

In commodities, oil prices firmed on expectations of production cuts, with Brent rising 90 cents to $52.79 per barrel and US crude up 1.9 per cent at $48.06 a barrel. Gold rose 0.2 per cent to $1642.21 an ounce.

(With inputs from Reuters)

4:00 PM

MARKET COMMENT | Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services

Fresh virus cases reported in India overshadowed monetary easing by Fed. Despite mixed global cues, the domestic market took a hit fuelled by weakness in metals, banks and auto stocks. Short term tremors due to virus could be felt across the globe including Indian indices but for the long term, the impact looks limited. 

3:47 PM

SECTOR WATCH | Bank, media and metal stocks witness sharp selling

3:43 PM

MARKET AT CLOSE | Top losers and gainers on the S&P BSE Sensex

3:36 PM

CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 214 points or 0.55 per cent lower at 38,409 while NSE's Nifty50 ended at 11,251, down 52 points or 0.46 per cent. 

3:27 PM

Cabinet Meet Outcome | Amendments to Companies Act approved

3:20 PM

NEWS ALERT | Prime Minister monitoring Coronavirus situation: Prakash Javadekar

3:14 PM

Cabinet Meet Outcome | Non-resident Indians will be allowed to fully own Air India: CNBC-TV18

3:10 PM

PSU Bank index hits over 10-yr low; Canara Bank tanks 38% thus far in 2020

Thus far in the calendar year, 2020 the Nifty PSU Bank index has tanked 27 per cent, as compared to an 8 per cent fall in the benchmark index. A total of eight banks including Indian Bank, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, Syndicate Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Union Bank of India, Jammu & Kashmir Bank and Allahabad Bank plunged between 30 per cent and 40 per cent during the period. READ MORE

2:58 PM

Buzzing | ITC hits 4-year low

2:56 PM

Coronavirus impact | Scarcity of items imported from South Korea worrisome: Govt official to ET Now

>> See larger problem with scarcity of auto parts specific to some brands

>> Complexity of mobile phones, auto parts make it difficult to replicate. 

2:50 PM

Bank of Japan offers bleak view on economy, warns of big hit from virus: Reuters

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Wednesday said the coronavirus outbreak could inflict big damage on the economy, stressing the central bank’s readiness to take “appropriate action” to underpin a fragile recovery, the report said. 

Haruhiko Kuroda

2:44 PM

Index Contributors at this hour

2:41 PM

BSE500 stocks that hit 52-week low today

COMPANY	PRICE(rs)	52 WK LOW	CHG(%)
ADITYA BIRLA CAP	74.55	74.25	-4.18
BALMER LAWRIE	100.40	99.50	-1.03
BANK OF INDIA	48.25	47.75	-2.13
BHARAT ELECTRON	72.55	70.60	-2.88
C P C L	96.55	96.20	-5.57

2:33 PM

Nifty sectoral indices at this hour

2:31 PM

Market check | Indices off lows