Sensex nosedives 883 pts as Covid wave intensifies

PLUNGE LEAVES INVESTORS POORER BY RS 3.53 LAKH CR

Equity benchmark indices nosedived on Monday as a strong second wave of Covid-19 infections cast a shadow over economic growth and corporate earnings outlook.

Concerns were also visible among foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) who have reportedly pulled out a net Rs 4,615 crore from Indian markets this month.

With the national and financial capitals besides several regions in states under lockdown, investors worried over leading brokerages downgrading GDP growth projections for the current fiscal year.

The BSE S&P Sensex closed 883 points or 1.81% lower at 47,949 while the Nifty 50 dipped by 258 points or 1.77% to 14,359.

Except for Nifty pharma, all sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the red zone with Nifty PSU bank crashing by 4.3%, private bank by 2.6%, financial service by 2.3%, realty by 4% and auto by

2.8%.

Among stocks, Punjab National Bank dipped by 4.8% to close at Rs 33.15 per share while State Bank of India was down by 2.5% to Rs 331.25.

Adani Ports lost by 4.8% to close at Rs 719 per share. Power Grid Corporation cracked by 4.1%, ONGC by 3.9%, Hero MotoCorp by 3.6% and L&T by 3.4%.

Banking and financials were also hit with IndusInd Bank down by 3.6%, Kotak Mahindra Bank by 3.5%, Bajaj Finserv by 3.4%.

However, pharma and IT majors made some gains with Dr Reddy's up by 2.3% and Cipla by 1.2%. Infosys was up by 0.7% and Wipro by 0.5%.

Meanwhile, Asian shares hovered near one-and-a-half week highs helped by expectations monetary policy will remain accommodative the world over. Covid-19 vaccine rollouts also helped eased fears of another dangerous wave of coronavirus infections.

South Korea's Kospi added 0.4% ahead of tech and auto earnings but Japan's Nikkei was flat. Hong Kong stocks ended 0.47% higher as healthcare, industrial firms rebounded.

Investor wealth tumbled by Rs 3.53 lakh crore on Monday, with the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies standing at Rs 201.77 lakh crore.