Sensex, Nifty Off Day's Lows As Energy, Metal Stocks Rise

Edited by Sandeep Singh (with inputs from agencies)

20 Aug 2020, 10:45 AM IST

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty were on course to close lower after three days of gain

Domestic stock markets trimmed early losses on Thursday amid weakness across global equities, after the US central bank warned the American economy faced a highly uncertain path to recovery from the coronavirus-induced downturn. The S&P BSE Sensex index fell as much as 1.04 per cent - or 402.13 points - to 38,212.66 in morning deals, and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark dropped to as low as 11,294.15, down 1.02 per cent - or 114.25 points - from its previous close.

At 10:32 am, the Sensex traded 294.63 points - or 0.76 per cent - lower at 38,320.16 while the Nifty was at 11,335.50, down 72.90 points - or 0.64 per cent - from its previous close. Losses in financial and auto shares pulled the markets lower, however gains in energy, pharmaceutical and metal stocks arrested the fall.

Both indices were on track to snap three straight sessions of gains.

Rising concerns about economic revival against the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic hurt market sentiment, say analysts.

Coronavirus cases continued to rise in India, reporting a record daily jump of 69,652 infections on Thursday morning, taking the total cases to 2.84 million and deaths to 53,866.

Equities across Asia suffered losses, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan last seen trading 1.62 per cent lower, while Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark was down 0.70 per cent.

The Federal Reserve's minutes of its latest policy meeting showed officials remained doubtful about a swift rebound in economic growth.

Global market sentiment had been bullish up until the central bank's comments, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hitting all-time highs driven largely by Apple Inc, whose market value touched the $2-trillion milestone.

China's Shanghai Composite, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's KOSPI indices were down 1.06 per cent, 2.00 per cent and 2.90 per cent at the time respectively.

The E-Mini S&P 500 futures were down 0.64 per cent, indicating a negative start for US markets on Thursday.