April 22, 2021 - 11:16 AM
By Soumyajit Saha
BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian shares fell on Thursday, as the country's medical system groaned under an unrelenting rise in coronavirus infections, reporting record jumps in both daily cases and deaths.
The NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.32% to 14,251.15 by 0430 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex slid 0.44% to 47,494.41.
Both the indexes fell as much as 1% to hit their lowest in nearly three months, as concerns about a halt in the country's nascent economic recovery intensified after it reported over 300,000 new cases on Thursday.
India's tally of COVID-19 cases soared by 314,835 over the previous 24 hours, the highest daily increase recorded anywhere. The previous record one-day rise in cases was held by the United States, at 297,430, in January.
"There is selling pressure on the market on fears that virus led restrictions will now extend beyond the bigger cities and to smaller towns and states as cases continue to rise," Siddharth Purohit, research analyst at SMC Global Securities said.
Meanwhile, the chief executive officer at Serum Institute of India, which manufactures the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, said it will not be able to raise its monthly output to 100 million doses until July, possibly slowing the country's immunisation drive.
Consumer goods stocks dropped 0.9%, on track to fall for the third straight session, with Hindustan Unilever falling 2.6% to drive the losses on the benchmark index.
Private banks fell 1.2%, with heavyweight HDFC Bank Ltd losing 0.9%.
Auto stocks declined 0.9%, with Maruti Suzuki India falling 1%.
Pharmaceutical stocks, meanwhile, rose 1.3% as demand for medical supplies and hospital beds continued to soar.
Metal stocks also rose, as Chinese steel futures hit a record high on strengthening demand.
Reporting by Soumyajit Saha in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V

Sumber : Reuters