Market Wrap, Jan 31: Sensex tanks 190 pts, Nifty below 12K ahead of Budget

Investors were up for a volatile trading session on Friday as expectations from the Union Budget 2020-21, and December quarter earnings kept investors jittery. That apart, concerns over the outbreak of Coronavirus, too, weighed on investor sentiment. 

Markets closed at their lowest level in 2020 ahead of the Budget presentation tomorrow. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex ended the day near day's low, at 40,723 level, down 190 points or 0.47 per cent, while the Nifty50 breached below the crucial 12,000-mark and settled at 11,962 level, down 74 points or 0.61 per cent. 

During the day, the Sensex and Nifty fell 483 and 158 points, respectively from the day's high. 

In the broader markets, the S&P BSE mid-cap index closed at 15,463.46 level, down 0.6 per cent, while the S&P BSE small-cap index was at 14,671.53, down 0.22 per cent.

Most domestic and foreign brokerages are looking forward to credible steps to prop-up growth and provide some relief to the individual income-tax payers when the government tables the Union Budget on Feb 1. 

Analysts at Nomura, for instance, expect the Budget to prioritise investment over short-term consumption demand, announce measures for boosting housing demand and attract more long-term risk capital.

Remember, markets will remain open tomorrow, and have a special trading session. 

In the Economy Survey tabled today in the Parliament, the government said it expects a pick-up in economic activity in the second half of the fiscal on the back of improved foreign direct investment flows, a build-up of demand pressure, positive outlook for rural consumption, and rebound of industrial activity.

Key results announced today:

>> State Bank of India posted a 41 per cent year-on-year growth in the standalone net profit at Rs 5,583 crore – its highest ever quarterly net profit-- for the December quarter of FY20. While the bank's asset quality improved, its slippages rose a staggering 265 per cent YoY on account of exposure worth Rs 7,000 crore, to a large Housing Finance, the bank said. The stock surged over 3% post the results, but closed 2.5 per cent higher at Rs 318 per share.

>> That apart, FMCG major Hindustan Unilever reported a 11.9% YoY rise in a net profit at Rs 1,616 crore for the quarter ended December 2019. Volume growth for the quarter came in at 5 per cent, the company said in a regulatory filing. The stock closed 1.18 per cent lower today.

Here's how the global markets traded today:

World share markets fought to regain their footing on Friday as investors clutched at hopes that China could contain the coronavirus.

MSCI's Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan extended their fall, however, dropping 0.4 per cent, and appeared set for their worst weekly loss in a year, of 4.6 per cent. 

Japan's Nikkei, meanwhile, bounced 1 per cent but was off 2.6 per cent for the week. Hong Kong's Hang Seng drifted 0.3 per cent lower and has shed 9 per cent in two weeks. 

On the other hand, Europe opened 0.3 per cent higher following a bounce in Tokyo.