Rising Covid cases, curbs pull stock markets lower

At the end of the trading session, while the 30-pack Sensex lost 882 or points or 1.81 per cent to close at 47,949, the much broader Nifty tanked 257 points to end at 14,360.

Mumbai:BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty have suffered huge losses on Monday amid the rising number of Covid-19 cases across the country.

At the end of the trading session, while the 30-pack Sensex lost 882 or points or 1.81 per cent to close at 47,949, the much broader Nifty tanked 257 points to end at 14,360.

During intraday trading, Sensex hit as low as 47,362 which is more than 1,450 points lower than the previous close of 48,832.

Among the 30 stocks of Sensex, only Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Infosys ended in the green whereas Power Grid Corporation of India lost the most at 4.17 per cent.

“The continuous rise in Covid-19 cases and the consequent shortage of beds and oxygen have resulted in calls for lockdown in some states and cities. So the market is worried about the impact of second wave on the economy,” Satish Kantheti, Joint Managing Director of Zen Money told ETV Bharat.

India's total tally of COVID-19 cases crossed the 1.50 crore mark on Monday with a record single-day rise of 2,73,810 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases surpassed the 19-lakh mark.

The total tally of COVID-19 cases has mounted to 1,50,61,919 and the death toll increased to 1,78,769 with a record 1,619 daily new fatalities.

Registering a steady increase for the 40th day in a row, the active cases have increased to 19,29,329 comprising 12.81 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 86 per cent.

Earlier in the day, to rein in the growing number of infections, the Delhi Government announced nearly one week lockdown till Monday.

(With PTI Inputs)