S&P BSE Sensex NSE Nifty 50 LIVE Sensex, Nifty Down 1% As COVID-19 2nd Wave Spooks Global Markets

Sensex, Nifty Down Nearly 2% As Rising COVID-19 Cases Spook Global Markets

A selloff across sectors weighed on benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty

Domestic stock markets registered sharp losses in early trade on Friday amid rising cases of the COVID-19 disease, as global equities tumbled over growing concerns that a resurgence of infections could stunt the pace of reopening economies. The S&P BSE Sensex index fell as much as 3.55 per cent - or 1,190.27 points - to hit 32,348.10, having started the session down 1,101.68 points at 32,436.69. The broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark dropped to as low as 9,544.35, after opening down 3 per cent at 9,544.95. A selloff across sectors - led by financial stocks, especially state-run banks - weighed on the benchmark indices.

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However, the markets recovered some of those losses in mid-morning deals. At 10:24 am, the Sensex traded 723.87 points - or 2.16 per cent - lower at 32,814.50, while the Nifty was down 214.15 points - or 2.16 per cent - at 9,687.85.
The Nifty Bank index - comprising stocks of 12 major lenders in the country - was down 2.79 per cent at the time with all its components also trading lower, having plummeted 4.87 per cent earlier.
India has 2,97,535 coronavirus cases, data from the Union Health Ministry showed this morning, A record number of 10,956 people tested COVID-19 positive and 396 people died in the last 24 hours. India is now the fourth most infected country, with the number of daily cases near 10,000 this week. (Read More)
Analysts awaited macroeconomic data due at 5:30 pm for more clarity on the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
"Fundamentals don't support the levels markets have achieved in last few sessions. Businesses are still not able to functions normally," said AK Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital. He said the Nifty is expected to correct to below 9,000 levels next week, and even 8,800 in the following week.
Consumer inflation - or the rate of increase in retail prices - is likely to have moderated to a six-month low of 5.50 per cent in May, according to a poll of 35 economists by news agency Reuters.
Equities in other Asian markets followed Wall Street, which saw its worst day since mid-March, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan last seen trading 1.12 per cent lower. While Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark index traded 1.52 per cent lower at the time, China's Shanghai Composite, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's KOSPI barometers were down 0.51 per cent, 1.03 per cent and 2.48 per cent respectively.
The E-Mini S&P 500 futures were up 1.07 per cent in early Asian trade, indicating a positive start for US markets on Friday. Overnight in the US, the S&P 500 index plunged 5.89 per cent in its steepest one-session loss since March 16, following renewed fears of a coronavirus resurgence as US states gradually reopen their economies after a nearly countrywide shutdown. Cases of the disease have jumped in several US states in recent days, raising concern among experts who say authorities have loosened restrictions put in place to contain the spread too early.
Investors also reacted to dour economic forecasts from the Federal Reserve. The US central bank released a gloomy economic outlook at the end of its two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday. Chair Jerome Powell warned of a "long road" to recovery.
Global equities have surged since late March, with the Nasdaq reaching record highs and the S&P 500 climbing over 40 per cent from March lows as the number of coronavirus cases nationwide declined modestly.