Shares of auto companies were trading with up to 19 per cent cut on the NSE on Thursday as panic selling continued amid growing fears of economic dislocation due to pandemic Coronavirus (Covid-19).

Nifty Auto index hit a six-year low today. At 10:33 am, the index was trading 7.5 per cent lower at 5,102 levels with 14 out of 15 components declining. In comparison, the benchmark Nifty50 index was hovering around 8,000 levels, down 466 points or 5.5 per cent.

A 30 per cent drop in the S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty 50 thus far in the calendar year 2020 (CY20) has weighed heavily on the fortunes of state-owned life insurer, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which has suffered a notional loss of about Rs 1.9 trillion in the past two-and-half months. The insurer, known for making large equity investments, has substantial holdings in many listed companies. The dent comes at a time when the government is drawing up plans of listing LIC at the bourses, subject to legislative changes and regulatory approvals.

The number of positive cases of coronavirus in Telangana rose to 13 after seven Indonesian nationals who were on a pilgrimage tested positive for the virus.

According to the official information, all of them were part of a pilgrimage group and were put into isolation on March 16. They were confirmed to have the virus on Wednesday.

The total number of cases in the state is 13, which includes one person who was cured.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development has directed all autonomous organisation under it including UGC, AICTE, NTA, NIOS, CBSE, and NCTE to postpone all examinations till March 31 as a precautionary measure to contain to spread of coronavirus.

The directions have been issued to ensure safety of students, teachers and parents as well as maintenance of the academic calender.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting to review the ongoing efforts to contain COVID-19 and also discussed ways to further strengthen India’s preparedness as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country jumped to 154.

The number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in India climbed to 154 on Wednesday. Among the states, Maharashtra has the highest number of cases at 45, followed by Kerala at 30.

The global death toll due to the novel coronavirus pandemic has crossed 8,900 while the total number of confirmed cases reported so far is more than 2 lakh.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday noted that over 80% of all cases are from two regions – the Western Pacific and Europe and said that it is talking to ministers of health, heads of state, health workers, hospital managers, industry leaders, CEOs and more – to help them prepare and prioritize, according to their specific situation.

A pill containing two HIV drugs that was touted as a potential treatment for the novel coronavirus was not effective, according to a study released late on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A test in Chinese patients with severe COVID-19 disease found the 99 who received AbbVie Inc's Kaletra, a combination of lopinavir and ritonavir, fared no better than the 100 who received standard care.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday once again came down heavily on the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), which had filed a petition seeking relief for telcos in paying the dues linked to adjusted gross revenue (AGR). The court shot down the DoT proposal that telecom companies might be permitted a 20-year staggered payment and exemption from penalties and interest in relation to the AGR dues.

Air India on Wednesday implemented a series of cost-saving measures, including reduction in allowances and fuel reimbursement for officers. However, the move is being resisted by its cabin crew — All India Cabin Crew Association (AICCA) — who have called the move discriminatory and illegal.

Around the world, airlines are responding to COVID-19 crisis with sharp reduction in capacity, pay cuts and layoffs.

Facebook said a bug in its anti-spam system temporarily blocked the publication of links to news stories about the coronavirus. Guy Rosen, Facebook's vice president of integrity, said on Twitter Tuesday that the company was working on a fix for the problem.

Users complained that links to news stories about school closings and other information related to the virus outbreak were blocked by the company's automated system.

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