New Delhi: Domestic equity markets started weak on Monday tracking Asian peers as the 30-stock benchmark Sensex declined 240 points to touch 34,850-mark and the broader Nifty50 index has slipped below the 10,300 mark. Also Read: Security Forces Gun Down 3 Terrorists In South Kashmir's Anantnag; Arms Recovered, Search Operation Underway

The global rating agency, the Standard and Poor’s, had downgraded ratings on four non-bank finance companies including Bajaj Finance, Shriram Transport Finance, Manappuram Finance and Power Finance Corporation.

Of the individual stocks Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Bajaj Finance are among the top losers in Sensex falling more than 3 per cent each.   Meanwhile, ITC rose as much as 4 per cent after the announcement of its March quarter results. Also Read: Launch Standardised Covid-19 Policies By July 10, IRDAI Tells Insurance Companies; All You Need To Know

On the result front, around 586 companies such as MRF, Bharat Forge, and GMR Infra, will announce their Q4 quarter earnings on Monday.

The warning from the global rating agency about the Indian economy in deep trouble also impacted the investors' sentiment. It has projected the economy's growth to shrink by 5 per cent this fiscal.

“We believe worsening operating conditions following COVID-19 have increased risks for financial institutions operating in India. We expect a recession to hurt the financial sector,” it said in a release. Also Read: Indians' Money In Swiss Banks Fell 6% In 2019 To Rs 6,625 Crore

Indian rupee opened at 75.63 a dollar on Monday compared with Friday's close of 75.64.

India’s latest Covid-19 toll has touched more than 19,000 coronavirus in the last 24 hours and almost 16,487 have already succumbed to the disease. Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said “no storm can continue forever".

Meanwhile, Asian share markets opened timid as the spread of the coronavirus made investors jittery raising doubts about economic recovery. This has prompted investors to turn to safe harbour bonds and the US dollar.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.2 per cent. Japan's Nikkei shed 1.5 per cent and South Korean stocks 1.4 per cent, according to business daily Mint.

Even the Wall Street ended weak on Friday as several states implemented business restrictions to contain the resurgence in coronavirus cases.

Globally, more than 10.24 million are found affected by coronavirus while over 5.5 million have recovered and 504,366 have succumbed to the disease so far.

Also Watch| Siliguri: Indian marketers decide not to sell products to Nepalese