Mumbai, May 15: The Sensex opened in the red today and slipped below the 31,000 mark, dragged by the auto stocks. The Sensex was trading at 30,868, down 253 points. Nifty, on the other hand, was trading at 9,66, down 0.65 percent at 11:18 am on Friday.  A total of 12 companies including Cipla, Aaarti Drugs, and M&M Finance are scheduled to announce their results on Friday.

Finance Minister will address a press conference at 4 pm today and share more details of the economic package which has been announced under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. The Finance Minister on Thursday disclosed part two of the details related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Rs 20 lakh crore economic package. FM Nirmala Sitharaman to Address Press Conference at 4 PM Today to Share Part 3 of 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat' Economic Package.

Chief Economic Advisor K V Subramanian on Thursday said the COVID-19 pandemic has severely dented the demand for non-essential or discretionary goods, creating deflationary conditions. He also said that a good part of the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package is designed in a manner that the fiscal deficit remains under control.

Coronavirus cases, on the other hand, continue to rise in India and the total figures have crossed the 81,000 mark on Friday. According to data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 3,967 new COVID-19 patients and 100 fatalities were reported in the past 24 hours. The total cases in the country have reached 81,970, with 2,649 deaths.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 15, 2020 11:19 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).