Sensex, Nifty Suffer 7% Weekly Loss, Analysts Say Anxiety Over Coronavirus Remains

Domestic stock markets sank on Friday for the sixth session in a row, capping their worst week in more than a decade, over fears that the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak could trigger a global recession. Official data later in the day showed Asia's third-largest economy expanded at its slowest pace in more than six years in the last three months of 2019, with analysts predicting further deceleration as the global coronavirus outbreak stifles growth.

The broader NSE Nifty 50 index ended 3.71 per cent lower at 11,219.20 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex fell 3.4 per cent to close at 38,383.32.

For the week, the Nifty 50 index shed 7.3 per cent, while the Sensex dropped 6.8 per cent - their worst decline since the 2008-09 financial crisis.

Global share markets were also sharply lower on Friday, marking their worst week since the 2008 global financial crisis and bringing the wipeout in value terms to $5 trillion.

"There are concerns that the outbreak will adversely impact ... global supply chains big time, thereby affecting economic growth of most nations," Ajit Mishra, vice president of research at Religare Broking, said in a note.

Even sectors like information technology tumbled despite a weaker rupee, indicating increasing anxiety amongst investors, he added.

Metals and mining stocks bore the brunt of Friday's selloff on worries of exposure to China, the epicentre of the virus.

Vedanta was the top laggard in the Nifty 50 index, dropping 12.7 per cent, while Indian Oil Corp managed to eke out meagre gains to end as the lone gainer in the index.

The Nifty 50 index is down 9.9 per cent and the Sensex 9.2 per cent from their record highs hit on January 20, largely due to worries about the outbreak.

Meanwhile, GDP growth expansion of 4.7 per cent for the October-December period matched the consensus in a poll of analysts by news agency Reuters, but was below a revised - and greatly increased - 5.1 per cent rate for the previous quarter. 

Friday's GDP data released on Friday showed government spending, private investment and exports all slowing, while a slight upturn in consumer spending and improvement in rural demand lent support.