Sensex Ends Lower As Global Markets Drop On Coronavirus Toll

Benchmark indices ended the day lower, as investors worried over the mounting death toll in China by the Coronavirus. India too reported its first case of the virus by a student in Kerala, while Philipines too confirmed the first case.

The Sensex ended the day lower by 284 points, while the Nifty dropped 84 points in trade. Investors in India did not want to consider long positions, ahead of the Union Budget to be delivered on Saturday.

Shares in Reliance Industries dropped more than 2 per cent, adding to considerable pressure on the Sensex and the Nifty. The heavyweight stock dropped, following a downgrade by a foreign brokerage firm.

Bajaj Auto was among the gainers from the Sensex after its margins surprised investors and net profits at the firm jumped 14 per cent. The stock ended the day 1.7 per cent higher.

Shares in Colgate Palmolive almost 6 per cent, after its quarterly net profits improved only marginally. Net profits of the firm grew 3.6 per cent at Rs 199 crores.

Among the Nifty stocks that gained apart from Bajaj Auto was Eicher Motors and ICICI Bank. Meanwhile, European markets were seeing a sharp cut. The German DAX was down nearly 1 per cent in trade and the French CAC too dropped 1 per cent.