Indian shares fell on Monday, dragged down by bank shares on worries over exposure to telecom firms, while energy stocks fell on concerns due to falling fuel demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
The broader NSE Nifty 50 index closed down 0.5% at 12,045.80 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex ended 0.47% lower at 41,061.86. Both the indices closed higher last week for a second straight week.
Only 13 stocks in Nifty 50 traded in the green, while one company was mostly unchanged.
Banking stocks were the top losers, with the Nifty bank index falling 0.5%. The Nifty PSU bank index dropped 3% and Nifty private bank index slid 0.4%.
The Indian government last week ordered mobile carriers to immediately pay billions of dollars in dues after the country's top court threatened the companies and officials with contempt proceedings for failing to implement an earlier ruling.
The Nifty energy index fell 1.5%. The biggest laggards in the NSE index were Yes Bank Ltd, Coal India Ltd and GAIL (India) Ltd, which fell 4.5%, 4% and 3.7%, respectively.
The blue-chip Nifty 50 has fallen about 0.9% so far in 2020. It has slipped over 3% from its January 20 record intraday high, weighed down by the impact of the coronavirus outbreak and as an annual federal budget failed to address key concerns among investors.
