Sensex Declines Around 200 points, Nifty Below 12,200; Metal, Banking Stocks Lead losses

The benchmark indices continue to trade in the red due to negative cues on the global front. At 10:45 am, the BSE Sensex was at 41,436, weaker by 176 points or 0.4 per cent and the NSE Nifty was at 12,193, down 55 points or 0.4 per cent. The broader markets have recouped their losses to outperform their larger peers; The BSE midcap index gained 0.4 per cent at 15,894 and the BSE Smallcap index added 0.3 per cent at 14,902.

Wall Street fell in a broad sell-off on Friday, as investors fled equities on growing concerns surrounding the coronavirus outbreak, capping the S&P 500's worst week in six months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 170 points to 28,989, S&P 500 lost 30 points to 3,295 and Nasdaq Composite dropped 87 points to 9,314.

Asian shares slid on Monday as the rampaging coronavirus virus infused fears in China and across Asia. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell nearly 2 per cent in early trade on Monday. Contracts on the S&P 500 Index fell more than 1 percent before paring losses and Japan's Topix slid. And Chinese futures fell more than 5 percent.

Trading volumes are expected to be low in Asia as markets are shut in China, Hong Kong and South Korea for the Lunar New Year holidays.

Oil prices slumped a further 2% to multi-month lows on Monday as the rising number of cases of the new China virus and city lockdowns in China deepened concerns about demand for crude. Brent crude fell by $1.12 a barrel, or 1.9%, to $59.57.

Banking and metal stocks are taking it on the chin this morning. In the banking space, SBI, Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank have weakened around 1 per cent each. In the auto space, Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto have shed up to 2 per cent each. And in the metal space, Tata Steel, JSW Steel and Jindal Steel have lost between 3 per cent and 4 per cent each. 

On the other hand, Grasim, Ultratech Cement and ICICI Bank have gained 1-2 per cent each. On Saturday, ICICI Bank had reported a 158 per cent growth in net profit to Rs 4,146 crore for the third quarter ended December 31 on the back of improvement in asset quality and decline in provisioning. The bank's net profit was Rs 1,604 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

HDFC, Dr Reddy's Lab and InterGlobe Aviation are among the major companies to declare their Q3 numbers during the day.

The Budget will be the key event of this week, considering the protracted economic slowdown and widespread expectations that the government will take measures to revive the economy. The flow of earnings will also keep the market participants on tenterhooks. The market will remain open on Saturday on account of the Budget