The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes ended lower in trade on Monday as rising coronavirus cases dampened investor sentiment. The benchmarks staged a gap down opening wherein the Sensex fell over 500 points and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday low of 10,223.60. The benchmarks however came off intraday lows in noon trading as gains in ITC and HFGC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank kept the downside under check.
The Sensex ended 210 points lower at 34,961.52 and Nifty fell 71 points to close at 10,312.
India's coronavirus tally surged to 5,48,318 cases today as 19,459 new infections were reported in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry said. The country also witnessed 380 COVID-19 related deaths in a single day, taking the total number of patients who have died so far to 16,475. This is the sixth consecutive day that more than 15,000 fresh cases have been recorded in a period of 24 hours.
Meanwhile, all the 11 sector gauges barring the index of FMCG shares ended lower led by Nifty Realty index's 3.5 per cent fall. Nifty PSU Bank, Metal, Media, Auto and Banking sector gauges also ended on a weak note.
Mid- and small-cap shares also witnessed selling pressure as the Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 1.6 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index declined 1.4 per cent.
Coal India fell 5 per cent to close at Rs 135 after its net profit dropped 23 per cent in March quarter to Rs 4,626 crore. Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, Hindalco, State Bank of India, Wipro, BPCL, Larsen & Toubro, Zee Entertainment, Infosys and Indian Oil were also among the losers.
On the flipside, Britannia Industries, HDFC Bank, Cipla, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ITC and Hindustan Unilever were among the notable gainers.
The overall market breadth was negative as 1,641 shares closed lower while 1,144 ended higher on the BSE.
