Negative start for the markets

The virus headline is likely to dominate the nervous stock market and as a result, we are going to witness another negative opening. SGX Nifty is down by 54 points, trading at 11,671 levels. Volatility will continue to be the buzzword on D-Street on the back of expiry of February series derivative contracts today.

Majority of Asian markets slipped on Thursday, following a painful reversal on the Wall Street. Japan’s Nikkei 225 has lost 1.79 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down by 0.90 per cent while, China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.36 per cent.  

Back home, in continuation of the prevailing downtrend, the markets plunged sharply lower and ended the day with losses of nearly one per cent. Nifty lost 1.01 per cent to close below 11,700 mark and BSE Sensex shed 0.97 per cent to close below 39,900 mark. In the broader market, Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap lost 1.06 and 0.57 per cent, respectively. On the sectoral front, all the sectors closed in red. Nifty Auto and Nifty Realty declined the most.

In overnight developments, US markets started the day in green only to see gains fade as the day progressed. Fears of Coronavirus outbreak in New York City’s doorstep overshadowed positive housing data. At the end, Nasdaq was above the neutral line, while Dow & S&P 500 closed lower. Meanwhile, European markets ended on a mixed note.