New Delhi: Equity benchmark indices ended lower on Friday (April 3) with the Sensex was down 674.36 points or 2.39% at 27590.95, and the broader Nifty was down 170.00 points or 2.06% at 8083.80. Major gainers on the Nifty were Sun Pharma, Cipla, GAIL, and ITC, while top laggards included Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Titan Company, and ICICI Bank.


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In the afternoon trade, the benchmark indices extended the fall and the Sensex was down 708.06 points or 2.51% at 27557.25, while the Nifty was also down 181.75 points or 2.20% at 8072.05. 


During early hours today, equity benchmark indices traded lower with investors remaining focused on the possible impact of rising coronavirus infections. At 10:15 am, the BSE Sensex was down by 274 points or 0.97 per cent at 27,991 while the Nifty 50 slipped by 91 points or 1.11 per cent at 8,162. Except for Nifty FMCG and pharma, all sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the red with Nifty private bank down by 2.9 per cent, metal by 2.8 per cent and auto by 2.5 per cent. 
Among stocks, private sector lender IndusInd Bank dropped by 5.5 per cent to Rs 323.25 per share. Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank too dipped by 4.9 per cent and 3.9 per cent respectively. JSW Steel was down by 5.1 per cent, Tata Steel by 3.9 per cent, Hero MotoCorp by 4.6 per cent, Bajaj Auto by 4 per cent and Tata Motors by 3.9 per cent. However, Cipla, Bajaj Finance, GAIL, ONGC and ITC traded with a positive bias.


Meanwhile, Asian markets were in the red despite Wall Street`s overnight gains after crude prices notched their biggest one-day surge on record. Japan Nikkei slipped by 0.19 per cent, Hong Kong`s Hang Seng by 0.6 per cent, South Korea`s Kospi by 0.71 per cent and Shanghai composite by 0.33 per cent. 


Crude prices slipped on Friday after the previous day's record surge as traders questioned Donald Trump's claims that Russia and Saudi Arabia were set to slash output, while equities struggled into the weekend after another thunderous rise in US jobless claims caused by the virus crisis.


As the number of people with COVID-19 tops a million and the death toll continues to climb, investors remain hostage to uncertainty as they try to gauge the long-term economic impact of the pandemic, which is widely expected to plunge the planet into recession.


However, with trillions of dollars pledged in government support, the wild volatility that characterised markets at the start of the crisis has given way to some form of stability. And providing a much-needed shot in the arm Thursday was a tweet by the US president that said Moscow and Riyadh could slash output to end their vicious price war, which sent crude prices to near-two-decade lows last month.


Trump said he had spoken to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who he claimed had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I expect & hope that they will be cutting back approximately 10 Million Barrels, and maybe substantially more which, if it happens, will be GREAT for the oil & gas industry!" Trump tweeted. "Could be as high as 15 Million Barrels," he added in a subsequent post.


The news sent crude soaring, with Brent at one point rising almost 50 percent and WTI around 35 percent. Brent eventually pared gains to end up 21 percent and WTI 25 percent, still a record jump for either contract. However, doubts began to grow after the Kremlin denied Putin had spoken to the crown prince.


Saudi Arabia, for its part, did call for a meeting of OPEC and other major producers led by Russia to "stabilise the oil market", just one day after the kingdom boosted supplies to record levels.


Equity markets were choppy despite a healthy lead from Wall Street as traders absorbed data showing a whopping 6.7 million US workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, on top of the 3.3 million the week before as the coronavirus forced businesses nationwide to close their doors.


It also tipped Asian growth to come in at just 2.2 percent this year, the worst since the region's financial crisis 22 years ago, while China's GDP was tipped to expand 2.3 percent. Tokyo and Seoul ended barely moved, Hong Kong shed 0.6 percent and Shanghai ended down 0.6 percent.


Sydney and Mumbai fell more than one percent, Singapore shed more than two percent and Bangkok dipped 0.4 percent. But there were gains in Jakarta and New Zealand. In early trade, London, Paris, and Frankfurt were all in negative territory.


(With Agency Inputs)