Indian shares ended lower on Friday, with mixed global cues and renewed worries about the Covid-19 situation in the country weighing on sentiment.
India recorded over 3 lakh cases for the second straight day today, clocking 3,32,730 cases in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry said.
With this, India’s trend of registering the world’s highest daily tally continues, pushing the country’s total infection count to 16,263,695 cases.
Several countries, including Australia, Britain, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates have barred or cut flights from India.
Fitch Ratings affirmed India’s sovereign rating at ‘BBB-‘ with a negative outlook, but warned the resurgence of Covid-19 infections may delay the country’s economic recovery.
The 30-share BSE Sensex ended down 202.22 points, or 0.42 percent, at 47,878.45 while the broader NSE Nifty index settled at 14,341.35, down 64.80 points, or 0.45 percent, from its previous close.
Selling was seen across the board, with FMCG, IT and healthcare firms underperforming. ICICI Bank, Wipro, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Mahindra & Mahindra and Britannia Industries lost 2-3 percent.
Cadila Healthcare shares surged 4.3 percent as the Drug Controller General of India gave approval for the emergency use of Zydus’s ‘Virafin’ in treating moderate Covid-19 infection in adults.
Tata Elxsi jumped 5.7 percent after reporting healthy March quarter results.
Power Grid Corp rallied 3.7 percent on reports that the company is launching an InvIT (infrastructure investment trust) IPO by April end.
Market Analysis
Sensex Drops 202 Points; Nifty Ends At 14,341
2021-04-23 11:10:56
