Indices trade lower; Europe opens in red

Key barometers traded in a narrow range near the day's low in afternoon trade amid dismal global cues. The illness derived from the novel coronavirus, SARS-COV-2, which originated in China, is starting to affect global trade and travel and dent confidence about earnings and economic growth.

At 13:32 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 1144.44 points or 2.88% at 38,601.22. The Nifty 50 index was down 351.25 points or 3.05% at 11,282.05.

On the BSE, 331 shares rose and 1972 shares fell. A total of 117 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 2 stocks advanced while 48 stocks declined.

 

Sectoral indices on the NSE fell across the board, with the Nifty Metal index (down 5.58%) declining the most followed by Nifty Media index (down 4.56%) and Nifty IT index (down 4.53%). As many as 380 securities hit fresh 52-week low on the BSE.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 2.50%, with 36 stocks advancing and 660 stocks declining. Among the index constituents, GMR Infrastructure (down 10.07%), KIOCL (down 8.38%), L&T Finance Holdings (down 7.57%), Steel Authority of India (down 6.86%) and Adani Power (down 6.44%) were the top losers.

The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 2.84%, with 10 stocks advancing and 91 stocks declining. Among the index constituents, Future Consumer (down 15.91%), Dish TV India (down 12.14%), India Tourism Development Corporation (down 11.15%), Lumax Industries (down 10.42%) and Nelcast (down 10.14%) were the top losers.

Economy:

Investors will keep a close watch on the quarterly GDP estimate for the quarter October-December 2019 (Q3 of 2019-20), which will release today, 28 February 2020. ICRA expects that the Indian economic growth may display a mild improvement. It estimates annual economic growth at 4.7% in the October-December 2019 quarter, marginally higher than 4.5% in the previous quarter.

Overseas:

Shares in Europe and Asia fell across the board on Friday. Japan's Nikkei sank to into correction territory as coronavirus fears continued to rattle global markets.

New COVID-19 cases have sprung up around the globe in recent days, with trade and industry threatened by mass quarantines and shutdowns.

Japan's Nikkei 225 plunged 4%. Data on Friday showed retail sales in Japan declining 0.4% year-on-year in January.

US stocks plunged for a sixth straight day on Thursday as all three benchmark indexes closed in correction territory.

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