Equity indices flat in volatile trade, metal stocks under pressure

Equity benchmark indices were flat during early hours on Wednesday as investors assessed the economic fallout from fast-spreading coronavirus.

At 10:15 am, the BSE S & P Sensex was down by 6 points to 38,618 but the Nifty 50 edged higher by 12 points at 11,316.

Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed with Nifty metal losing by nearly 1 per cent, PSU bank by 0.7 per cent and realty by 0.6 per cent.

Among stocks, Tata Steel lost by 1.9 per cent at Rs 380.30 per share while Vedanta was down by 1.8 per cent, and JSW Steel by 0.9 per cent.

Lending majors Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank and State Bank of India slipped between 1 and 2 per cent each while Tata Motors skidded by 2.4 per cent to Rs 127.20 per share.

The other prominent losers were Eicher Motors and ITC. However, pharma majors Dr Reddy's and Sun Pharma gained by 1.5 per cent each.

On the international front, the US Federal Reserve announced an emergency rate cut on Tuesday of half a percentage point in response to the growing economic threat from novel coronavirus.

That did little to stabilise Asian shares. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan edged 0.2 per cent higher but Japan's Nikkei was either side of flat in choppy trade.

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