Sensex falls 65 points in morning session

Market benchmark Sensex slipped 65 points in opening session on Monday, mainly due to losses in banking and financial stocks amid rising concerns over coronavirus outbreak.

The 30-share barometer was trading 65 points, or 0.16 per cent, lower at 41,192.74. The gauge had lost over 200 points on Friday.

The NSE Nifty was trading down by 28 points, or 0.23 per cent, at 12,085.45.

ONGC was the top loser in the Sensex pack, followed by M&M, SBI, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Auto, HDFC L&T, Sun Pharma and IndusInd Bank, falling up to 1.16 per cent.

On the other hand, TCS emerged as the biggest gainer, followed by Infosys, NTPC Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever and Tata Steel, rising up to 0.60 per cent.

In the previous session, the Sensex fell by 202.05 points or 0.49 per cent to end at 41,257.74, with 22 of its constituents closing with losses. Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty shed 61.20 points or 0.50 per cent to settle at 12,113.50.

Dealers said that coronavirus outbreak continued to weigh on the investor sentiment globally.

Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 704.92 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 219.54 crore on Friday, data available with stock exchanges showed.

Asian stocks were trading mixed as the death toll from coronavirus increased and concerns over the possible economic fallout from the epidemic.

Bourses in Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading on a positive note, while those in Seoul and Tokyo slipped in the red.

Brent crude oil futures fell 0.23 per cent to USD 57.19 per barrel.

The rupee depreciated 9 paise to 71.46 against the US dollar in morning session.