Corona Virus Deaths Scare Asian Markets; Sensex Trades Higher

Benchmark indices were trading marginally higher, after three straight days of losses for the Nifty and the Sensex. Most of Asia was trading lower, particularly the shares in Mainland China, after worries over the deaths due to the Coronavirus.

The Shanghai Composite was down more than 1.5 per cent, while the Hong Kong's Hang Sang too was down more than 1 per cent on mounting casualties due to the Corona Virus.

The Sensex was trading with gains of 144 points, while the Nifty was up by 37 points. Among the stocks that reacted to results was the shares of Axis Bank and Larsen and Toubro.

Axis Bank reported a net profit of Rs 1,757 crores, which missed analysts estimates, most of which had expected the bank to post a net profit in excess of Rs 2,000 crores. The stock was up more than 2 per cent in trade on lower provisions.

Shares in L&T too gained ground, as quarterly numbers for the period ending Dec 31, 2019 largely met estimates.

Shares in ONGC and Coal India, which saw declines of nearly 4 to 5 per cent on Wednesday, managed to gain some ground. Both the stocks were up 0.5 per cent each.

Vodafone Idea shares resumed their rally and were up 4 per cent in trade today.