Equity indices volatile, metal and auto stocks drag

Equity benchmark indices erased morning gains on Wednesday due to profit booking as investors assessed the implications of spreading coronavirus in China and beyond.

Equity benchmark indices erased morning gains on Wednesday due to profit booking as investors assessed the implications of spreading coronavirus in China and beyond. At 12:30 pm, the BSE S&P Sensex was down by 98 points to 41,226 while the Nifty 50 edged lower by 32 points at 12,138. Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed but Nifty metal dipped by 1.09 per cent and auto by 1.01 per cent.

Among stocks, Coal India fell by 4.72 per cent to Rs 192.60 per share while ONGC lowered by 4.2 per cent and NTPC by 3.8 per cent. Tata Motors was down by 3.2 per cent on fears of low sales in China and Maruti by 2.1 per cent. Private sector lenders Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank too slipped in the red by 1.9 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively. The other prominent losers were Power Grid Corporation, UPL and Asian Paints.

However, Infosys gained by 1.5 per cent to Rs 773.90 per share while HCL Technologies was up by 1.1 per cent. Pharma majors Dr Reddy's and Cipla too gained by 0.7 per cent each and 0.6 per cent respectively. (ANI)