Mumbai, Feb 18 Indian markets, in line with its global peers, slipped on Tuesday after Apple, one of the most valuable companies in the world, said that the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak is hurting its business more than previously expected.
"Markets reacted sharply after the iPhone maker warned it was unlikely to meet the March quarter sales guidance it had set just three weeks ago. This raises concerns over the fallout of the coronavirus outbreak on the global economy," said Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal Financial Services
The benchmark Sensex closed at 40,894.38, lower by 161.31 while the Nifty settled at 11,992.50, lower by 53.30 points.
All the sectors ended in red except IT and Media with Metals and Auto being the biggest losers. The buying was witnessed in the last hour of the trade in IT companies along with PSUs which led to the recovery in the markets.
Even HSBC has said that it plans to shed around 35,000 jobs in Europe and the US, due to social unrest in Hong Kong and the Coronavirus outbreak, which further dented the market sentiments.
Meanwhile, the Chinese health authority on Tuesday said it received reports of 1,886 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 98 deaths on Monday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.
( With inputs from IANS )