Sensex ends 153 pts lower amid fresh coronavirus cases

Tanking 939 points from the day's high level, equity benchmark index Sensex closed 153.27 points lower at 38,144.02 on Monday as detection of fresh coronavirus cases in India spooked domestic investors.

Marking its seventh consecutive session of fall, the broader NSE Nifty fell 69 points or 0.62 per cent to end at 11,132.75.

Stock markets had rallied in morning session due to value buying by investors following sharp losses in the previous sessions.

Sensex rallied 786 points to touch the day's high of 39,083.17. Nifty scaled 11,433 in day trade.

However, the Union Health Ministry reporting two more positive cases of new coronavirus spooked domestic investors with Sensex crashing almost 1,300 points from the day's high to touch 37,785.99. Nifty also plunged to a low of 11,036.25.

Top losers in the Sensex pack included SBI, Tata Steel, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, ONGC and IndusInd bank.

On the other hand, HCL Tech, Nestle India, ICICI Bank and Infosys were among the gainers.

According to traders, news that two new coronavirus cases were confirmed in India turned investors jittery, reversing all of the day's gains.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended with significant gains as investors began value-buying in recently-hammered equities.

Stock exchanges in Europe too turned positive in their morning sessions.

Brent crude oil futures fell 2.25 per cent to USD 50.79 per barrel.

On the currency front, the Indian rupee depreciated 12 paise to 72.36 per US dollar (intra-day)