The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes came off intraday low levels but were still down nearly 1 per cent weighed down by weakness in Reliance Industries, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Infosys and Larsen & Toubro. However, gains in ITC, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel kept downside under check. A jump in coronavirus cases across the world and at home stoked fears of renewed restrictions that could hit business activities, dimming hopes of a quick economic recovery.
As of 1:12 pm, the Sensex was down 287 points at 34,884 and Nifty fell 84 points to 10,299.
COVID-19 cases in India jumped by 19,459 to 548,318 as of Monday morning, with the death toll rising to 16,475, according to health ministry data.
Nine of 11 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading lower led by the Nifty Metal index's 3 per cent fall. Nifty Bank, PSU Bank, Private Bank, Media and Financial Service indexes fell between 1-3 per cent each.
On the other hand, Nifty FMCG index was top gainer, up 1 per cent.
Mid- and small-cap shares were underperforming their larger peers as Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indexes fell 1.4 per cent each.
Forty out of the 50 shares in Nifty were trading lower led by Coal India's 5 per cent decline. Axis Bank, Hindalco, Zee Entertainment, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro, IndusInd Bank, Vedanta and Bajaj Finserv were also among the laggards.
On the flipside, ITC Limited shares rose more than 4 per cent on Monday, after the fast-moving consumer goods major reported a 9.05 per cent rise in standalone net profit rose to Rs 3,797.08 crore in quarter ended March 31. The increase in ITC's profit came on account of a lower corporate tax outgo despite a decline in revenues.
Britannia Industries, Cipla, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints and HDFC Bank were among the notable gainers.
The overall market breadth was negative as 1,618 shares were declining while 1,032 were advancing on the BSE.
