Sensex down by 285 points over China epidemic worries, FMCG and pharma stocks drag

Equity benchmark indices ended lower on Thursday as concerns over the spread of coronavirus from China prompted investors heading for safer bets ahead of the Union Budget for 2020-21.

The BSE S & P Sensex closed 285 points lower at 40,914 while the Nifty 50 declined by 94 points at 12,036. All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the red with Nifty pharma down by over 2 per cent, FMCG by 1.5 per cent, metal by 1.4 per cent and PSU bank by 1.3 per cent.

Among stocks, Yes Bank showed a decline of 5.1 per cent at Rs 39.10 per share after India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) maintained its long-term issuer rating of A on rating watch negative (RWN) and withdrew its short-term issuer rating of A1.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries fell by nearly 2.5 per cent to Rs 1,443 per share while Bajaj Finserv slipped by 2.7 per cent and Hindalco by 2.4 per cent.

The other prominent losers were Wipro, Cipla, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, GAIL and IndusInd Bank.

However, those which showed gains were Bajaj Auto, Eicher Motors, ICICI Bank, Power Grid Corporation and NTPC.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks slipped as worries about the spread of a new virus from China sent investors heading for safety. And the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday as expected.

Japan's Nikkei fell by 1.72 per cent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped by 2.62 per cent. South Korea's Kospi was down by 1.71 per cent.

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