Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty traded 1% lower each on Monday tracking heavy sell-off in global equities amid rising concerns over Chinese coronavirus epidemic.
Here's a look at ten factors that led to the fall in Indian stock market today:
-Sensex lost 496 points to 40,673 and NSE 50-share index Nifty50 fell 157 points to 11,923. Of 30 Sensex stocks, 23 were trading in red. On Nifty, 41 out of 50 scrips were trading lower.
- Tata Steel, HDFC, ITC, ICICI Bank, Maruti, Hero MotoCorp, NTPC and PowerGrid were among the top losers today. On the other hand, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Sun Pharma and HUL were the top gainers.
- Sectorally, all indices except IT were trading in losses, with over 3% decline in metal, followed by 1.75% fall in auto and pharma stocks, and over 1% decline in all other indices.
- Metal stocks were top losers in Monday's session, with Nifty metal index declining over 3% amid global sell-off as investors worldwide continued to be spooked by the impact of Coronavirus. Brent crude prices too felt the heat of dampening sentiment in global markets. The commodity traded at $56.91 per barrel, down 2.72% today. Information technology index on BSE rose 110 points to 16,457 as rupee weakened to a two-month low.
- Market breadth was negative with 821 stocks rising against 1,375 falling on BSE. 151 stocks were unchanged. On BSE, 54 stocks hit their 52-week highs compared to 126 hitting their 52 week lows. 143 securities hit their upper circuits compared to 187 touching their lower circuits on the first trading day of this week.
- Contrary to the bearish trend in the equity market, gold price rose 2% globally to a seven-year high of $1,678.58 per ounce. In India, Gold 05 Feb 2020 Futures on MCX rose by another Rs 433 or 1% to a record high of 43,099 per 10 gm today. The yellow metal jumped today as investors turned to safe-haven assets due to rising concerns over the economic impact from coronavirus cases.
- Amid coronavirus fears, the Indian rupee opened weak at 71.94 at the interbank forex market, down by 30 paise against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday. The local currency, however, pared some initial losses and was trading at 71.83 against the US dollar. The rupee had settled at 71.64 against the US dollar on Friday.
- Overseas markets extended last week's fall amid a surge in the number of new coronavirus cases reported outside China and on worries over its impact on the global economy. The sharp spike in infections in Italy and Iran, with South Korea raising its infectious disease alert to its highest level has made investors jittery as whether the virus can be successfully contained. South Korea put the country on high alert after the number of infections surged to over 600 with six deaths, making it the world's largest total outside China. Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo were also trading majorly bearish. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.7% to 541.48.
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned Sunday that the deadly coronavirus epidemic could put an already fragile global economic recovery at risk, as G20 financial chiefs discussed ways to contain its economic ripple effects.
- The World Health Organization has also warned about the growing number of cases without any clear link to China.
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