SBI, ITC, HUL and Tech Mahindra are due to declare their Q3 numbers during the day.
The benchmark indices have given up early-morning gains as they await the Economic Survey due to be unveiled this afternoon. At 11:30 a.m, the Sensex was quoting at 40,759, lower by 153 points and the Nifty was at 11,980, down 55 points. The BSE Sensex has already shed more than 300 points from the highs of the day.
The broader markets were also trading weak; the BSE Midcap index had 62 points or 0.4 per cent at 15,494 and the smallcap index had lost 41 points or 0.2 per cent at 14,663.The Economic Survey is to be presented by Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Krishnamurthy Subramanian in the afternoon, a day ahead of the Budget.
On the global front, the World Health Organization called the outbreak of coronavirus in China a global health emergency, citing the risk that the deadly virus could expand to other countries beyond China.
As worries rise over the epidemic's potential economic impact, oil futures dropped to settle at a six-month low, down by around 17% from their recent peaks, while gold prices climbed to the highest levels in nearly seven years.
Back home, ONGC, NTPC and RIL shed 0.5 per cent to 2 per cent each to be among the major losers on the BSE. On the other hand, financial stocks were among the top gainers this morning, with Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance and SBI gaining between 1 per cent and 4 per cent each.
In corporate developments, IT services major Wipro said its CEO and Managing Director Abidali Z Neemuchwala has decided to step down from the company. The stock is tradind 1.3 per cent lower at Rs 237 on the BSE.
SBI, ITC, HUL and Tech Mahindra are due to declare their Q3 numbers during the day.
The market breadth is weak. Out of 1,963 stocks traded on the BSE, there were 804 advancing stocks as against 1,058 declines.
