COVID-19 impact: Sensex ends 173 points lower after choppy session; banks slip

MUMBAI: Equity market ended Wednesday’s volatile session in the negative territory as coronavirus (Covid-19) cases continued to rise in India and the government gave the hint that the nationwide lockdown may get extended. Weak global cues, too, dented the sentiment.

The S&P BSE Sensex shed 173 points or 0.58 per cent to 29,894 levels with TCS (down around 4 per cent) being the biggest loser, followed by Titan, ICICI Bank, and SBI. Drug major Sun Pharma (up nearly 5 per cent), on the other hand, was the top gainer on the index.

On the NSE, benchmark index Nifty ended at 8,749, down 43 points or 0.49 per cent.

Broader market, however, outperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE MidCap gained around 2 per cent to 10,976 levels and the S&P BSE SmallCap index rallied 1.86 per cent to 9,980.

On the sectoral indices, Nifty Realty index slipped the most - over 1 per cent to 180.50 levels. Nifty Metal and Nifty IT indices were next on the list. Nifty Bank shed 0.6 per cent to 18,946.45-mark.

Shares of Cadila Healthcare (Zydus Cadila) surged 17 per cent to Rs 367 on the BSE in the intra-day trade. The company today said that it has initiated an accelerated research programme with multiple teams in India and Europe developing a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV (COVID-19) based on two approaches. The stock ended at Rs 350, up 12 per cent.

Shares of Balrampur Chini Mills (BCML) were locked at the 5 per cent upper circuit for the nine straight day, at Rs 126.40, on the NSE after the credit rating agency Icra re-affirmed the credit ratings for both long-term and short-term. The outlook on the long term rating remained stable. (Agencies)

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