Sensex, Nifty open in the red; Yes Bank, UPL, Eicher, SBI major gainers

Meanwhile, global stocks and oil fell while safe-haven gold rose on Monday as the death toll from a coronavirus outbreak surpassed the SARS epidemic, raising alarm bells about its severity.

Image courtesy: Reuters

Mumbai: Benchmark indices on Monday witnessed a negative opening with the Sensex down 80.69 points or 0.20% at 41061.16. The broader Nifty also started down 19.50 points or 0.16% at 12078.90. Major gainer stocks on the Indices were Yes Bank, UPL, Eicher, SBI, and NTPC, while Tata Steel, ACC, M&M, Vedanta, and JSW Steel were the top losers.

About 488 shares have advanced, 295 shares declined, while 55 shares remain unchanged. 

However, the Indian rupee opened higher at 71.34 per dollar on Monday versus Friday's close of 71.40.

Meanwhile, stocks and oil fell while safe-haven gold rose on Monday as the death toll from a coronavirus outbreak surpassed the SARS epidemic, raising alarm bells about its severity. 

MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan stumbled 0.7% to be on track for its second straight day of loss. Japan`s Nikkei fell 0.8% while South Korea`s KOSPI was off 1.4% and Australian shares eased 0.5%.

The losses extended from Wall Street on Friday where the Dow fell 0.9%, the S&P 500 declined 0.5% while the Nasdaq dropped 0.5%. E-mini futures for S&P 500 were down 0.3% on Monday. 

Benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes ticked higher to push yields down to 1.5645%. Euro zone bond yields fell after German industrial output tumbled in December to notch its biggest fall since January 2009, fanning concerns about the bloc`s biggest economy.

The euro held near four-month lows at $1.0950. The dollar slipped against the yen to be on track for a second straight day of losses. It was last at 109.61 yen.

The Australian dollar, considered a liquid proxy for China plays, briefly hit an 11-year low of $0.6679. It fell 0.2% last week to clock its six straight weekly loss. That left the dollar index flat at 98.662.

Oil prices slipped as Russia said it would need more time before committing to output cuts along with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers amid falling demand for crude as China battles the coronavirus.

Since January 17, oil prices have fallen by 14% while copper has is down around 10%. Brent crude futures declined 52 cents to $53.95 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures slipped 45 cents to $49.87 a barrel.

US gold futures added 0.3% at $1,577.5 an ounce. Spot gold was higher at $1,574.4.

(With Agency Inputs)