Sensex sheds 284 points as coronavirus toll rises

Uncertainty ahead of the Union Budget and rising toll of the coronavirus globally led the Indian equity markets to end in the red on Thursday. The benchmark Sensex closed below the 41,000-point mark as the government confirmed the first coronavirus case in Kerala.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said one positive case of coronavirus (nCoV) from Kerala has come to light.

Stock markets across Asia and Europe fell on Thursday, with investor sentiment remaining weak on fears of an increasingly severe outbreak of the SARS-like virus that originated in central China's Wuhan and has now claimed over 170 lives.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities said that the markets resumed their downtrend as the Nifty corrected sharply after the bounce seen in the previous session. The weakness came on the back of weak global cues.

The Sensex closed at 40,913.82 down 284.84 points while the Nifty ended at 12,035.80 lower by 93.70 points.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said: "A slew of results announced so far failed to provide a picture of economic revival with banks quarterly results being disappointing due to weak asset quality that triggered profit booking."IANS