APRIL 3, 2020 / 12:10 PM
* NSE index down 1.27%, BSE index falls 1.29%
* Coronavirus cases rise to over 1,800 in India
* NSE banking index falls 2.5%
BENGALURU,(Reuters) - Indian shares tracked broader Asia lower on Friday as coronavirus cases showed no signs of abating and doubts emerged over an oil price deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia that U.S. President Donald Trump said he had brokered.
The broader NSE Nifty 50 index fell 1.27% to 8149.15 by 0440 GMT and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was down 1.29% at 27,900.18.
Global coronavirus cases surpassed 1 million on Thursday with more than 52,000 deaths. In India, an ongoing 21 day lockdown has brought Asia's third-largest economy to a halt.
"There are persistent concerns because, globally, cases and deaths are rising," said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice president at SMC Global Securities in New Delhi.
Active coronavirus cases in India rose to 1,860 as of Thursday evening, government data showed https://www.mohfw.gov.in, while 53 died from the infection.
"Markets are quite jittery and the solution given by the government and central bank don't seem to be enough," Jain added.
Kotak Securities in a note also flagged the growing concerns of an "imminent global recession" due to the coronavirus and said the lockdown in India would amplify the slowdown in the country's GDP growth.
Meanwhile, MSCI 's Asia-Pacific index outside Japan dipped 0.15% after oil prices on Friday retreated from their highest single-day rise in the previous session on Trump's comments on the deal.
Brent crude futures fell 3.27%, or 98 cents, to $28.96 per barrel as of 0335 GMT on Friday, after having soared 21% on Thursday.
"It is very hard to predict how Saudi Arabia and Russia will behave," SMC Global's Jain said.
In the domestic market, banks and financial stocks led declines. The Nifty banking index, which tracks both state-owned and private-sector lenders was down 2.48% and the Nifty financials index fell 2.33%.
State-owned Indusind Bank fell 5.6% and was the top laggard in morning trade followed by software exporter Wipro Ltd, which fell 4.64%.
Generic drugmaker Cipla Ltd jumped 6% and was the top gainer on the blue-chip index. The stock lifted the Nifty Pharma index 0.7%. (Reporting by Derek Francis in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
Sumber : Reuters
powered by: IPOTNEWS.COM
