Sensex Sinks 700 Points As Coronavirus Fears Mount

Global shares and oil extended losses on Monday while safe-haven gold soared as the spread of the coronavirus outside China accelerated with infections jumping in South Korea, Italy and the Middle East, in a worrying new development in the outbreak.

Weak sentiments, especially the S&P 500 Futuires pointing to 1 1.3 per cent cut, pushed Indian indices lower we well.

Asian markets opened the day very weak, as fears over the Coronavirus continued to mount. The S&P A/X 200 was down more than 2 per cent, while the Hong Kong's Hang Sang was down more than 1.5 per cent.

The Sensex was last seen trading lower by 675 points, while the Nifty was down 213 points in trade.

Shares in Oil India and ONGC lost significant ground, as reports that gas prices would be cut surfaced. Shares in PNB Housing Finance fell after Crisil downgraded its long-term rating to CRISIL AA/Stable from AA+/Negative. The shares were last trading at Rs 411.

Yes Bank saw its stock fall after reports that ICRA cut bank's issuer rating to A- from A with a negative outlook.

Among the top Nifty stocks that lost ground were Hindalco, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, JSW Steel and Vedanta.

Tech stocks were trading extremely strong with stocks like TCS, Tech Mahindra and Infosys among the gainers. Top Nifty gainers were Bharti Infratel and Sun Pharma. Among the shares that hit a new 52-week low were L&T, HeroMoto Corp and Hindustan Zinc.

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