MUMBAI: The stock markets have plunged at opening bell, in line with the sell-off witnessed across the world, as the spread of coronavirus across the world is stoking fears of a prolonged global economic slowdown. The BSE Sensex was at 37,180, weaker by 1,300 points and the SGX Nifty was at 10,881, down 385 points in early trades. The broader markets also succumbed to panic selling, with BSE Midcap index nosendiving by 568 points or 3.9 per cent to 14002 and the BSE Smallcap index losing 426 points or 3.1 per cent to 13,164. All the BSE sectoral indices are trading in the red.

The coronavirus is showing no signs of abating, with a whooping 95,000 people being diagnosed with the fatal condition in more than 60 countries across all continents, except Antarctica, and thirty people being tested positive so far in India.

Asian shares had also fallen across the board this morning; MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.5 per cent and Japan's Nikkei index slid 1.4 per cent. Hang Seng, Straits Times, SET Composite and Jakarta indices also shaved off between 1 and 3 per cent each.

The US stocks had tumbled overnight, with shares of banks and travel companies taking a beating, as a new wave of fear about the spread of the coronavirus and its economic impact gripped investors. The Dow Jones fell 969 points or 3.5 per cent to 26,121 and Nasdaq Composite dropped 279 points or 3.1 per cent to 8,738.

The equity benchmarks back home closed with modest gains on March 5 as fears over coronavirus cases and its economic fallout continued weighing on sentiment. The S&P BSE Sensex had ended 61 points higher at 38,471 and Nifty 50 index advanced 18 points to close at 11,269.

Meanwhile, the rupee snapped its four-session losing run on Thursday to close 6 paise higher at 73.33 against the US dollar amid hopes that efforts by countries would offset financial damage from the novel coronavirus outbreak. Easing crude oil prices and weakness in the dollar vis-a-vis other key global currencies also helped the rupee build resistance.

On the corporate front, Yes Bank will be in focus after the government limited deposit withdrawal in the beleaguered bank to Rs 50,000 a month.

There is bloodbath across the Street. IndusInd Bank has dived 11 per cent to to top the losers list on the BSE index. Banking heavyweights such as IndusInd Bank, SBI, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank have weakened between 3 per cent and 6 per cent each. Among the other index heavyweights, Tata Steel, L&T and Reliance Industries have shed around 3 per cent each on the BSE. There are no advances among the BSE index stocks.

The market breadth is weak. Out of 1,590 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1,385 declining stocks as against 162 advances.