Market Wrap, Feb 17: Sensex 202 pts lower; Nifty ends at 12,046

Benchmark indices ended around half a per cent lower on Monday, dragged down by banking stocks exposed to telecom operators after the government ordered mobile carriers to immediately pay the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.  The S&P BSE Sensex declined 202 points or 0.49 per cent to end at 41,056 levels. HDFC, Reliance Industries (RIL), ITC, SBI, and ICICI Bank emerged as the major contributors to the index's fall while TCS and Infosys gave the much-needed support.  Vodafone Idea ended over half a per cent lower at Rs 3.42 after jumping around 19 per cent in the early trade. The stock reversed its gains after the Supreme Court rejected the telecom firm's proposal to pay Rs 2,500 crore by the end of the day and Rs 1,000 crore by Friday against AGR dues, while also refusing its plea that no coercive action be taken against it. READ MORE NSE's Nifty ended the day at 12,046, down 68 points or 0.56 per cent.  Volatility index India VIX advanced nearly 7 per cent to 14.54 levels. On the sectoral front, Nifty PSU Bank index slumped the most - nearly 3 per cent to 2,146 levels. Bank of Baroda (BoB), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Oriental Bank of Commerce, Allahabad Bank and Union Bank of India (UBI) has hit their respective five-year lows on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in the intra-day trade. Indian Bank and Jammu & Kashmir Bank from the Nifty PSU Bank index also hit their fresh 52-week lows. READ MORE GLOBAL MARKETS Global shares rose on Monday as the promise of further policy stimulus to counteract the economic hit from a coronavirus outbreak calmed nervous investors. In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.17 per cent to near last week’s peak of 558.30, its highest since late January. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.7 per cent after its economy shrank at the fastest pace in almost six years in the December quarter. The slowdown in the world’s third-largest economy came amid concern the coronavirus effects will hurt output and tourism, stoking fears Japan may slump into recession. South Korea’s KOSPI index ended mostly flat. Australian, Singapore and Malaysian share indexes weakened. In commodities, gold fell 0.25 per cent to $1,580 an ounce. Brent crude was higher at $57.41 a barrel and US crude added 0.25 per cent to $52.22.