The Sensex and the Nifty opened the day on a negative note weighed down by fears surrounding inflation in the United States.
Join us as we follow the top business news through the day.
Rupee falls 18 paise to 73.53 against US dollar in early trade
The bearish mood in stocks affects the rupee as well.
PTI reports: "The Indian rupee slumped 18 paise to 73.53 against the US dollar in opening trade on Tuesday tracking weak domestic equities and strong American currency.
Forex traders said concerns over rising COVID-19 cases also weighed on investors' sentiment.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened lower at 73.47 against the dollar, and lost further ground and touched 73.53, registering a fall of 18 paise over its previous close.
On Monday, rupee had closed at 73.35 against the US dollar.
The domestic unit started on a weaker note against the dollar tracking decline in Asian shares and currencies on concerns over rising US inflation expectations, Reliance Securities said in a research note.
Most of the Asian currencies are trading weaker against the dollar and could weigh on sentiments, the note said, adding that markets will also await domestic IIP and CPI data this week.
Single day spike of 3,29,942 COVID-19 infections, 3,876 fatalities has pushed India's tally of cases to 2,29,92,517, and death toll to 2,49,992. Active COVID-19 cases in country recorded at 37,15,221, according to the Health Ministry.
In the equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 336.74 points or 0.68 per cent lower at 49,165.67. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 97.10 points or 0.65 per cent to 14,845.25.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital markets, as they purchased shares worth Rs 583.69 crore on Monday, as per provisional data.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading higher by 0.03 per cent at 90.23.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were down by 0.67 per cent to USD 67.86 per barrel."
What we know about the Indian variant as coronavirus sweeps South Asia
An explainer on the new virus variant.
Reuters reports: "India has recorded the world's sharpest spike in coronavirus infections this month, with political and financial capitals New Delhi and Mumbai running out of hospital beds, oxygen and medicines.
Scientists are studying what led to the unexpected surge, and particularly whether a variant of the novel coronavirus first detected in India is to blame. The variant, named B.1.617, has been reported in 17 countries, raising global concern. Here are the basics:
WHAT IS THE INDIAN VARIANT?
The B.1.617 variant contains two key mutations to the outer "spike" portion of the virus that attaches to human cells, said senior Indian virologist Shahid Jameel.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the predominant lineage of B.1.617 was first identified in India last December, although an earlier version was spotted in October 2020.
On May 10, the WHO classified it as a "variant of concern," which also includes variants first detected in Britain, Brazil and South Africa. Some initial studies showed the Indian variant spreads more easily.
"There is increased transmissibility demonstrated by some preliminary studies," Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's technical lead on COVID-19, said, adding it needs more information about the Indian variant to understand how much of it is circulating.
ARE VARIANTS DRIVING THE SURGE IN CASES?
It's hard to say.
Laboratory-based studies of limited sample size suggest potential increased transmissibility, according to the WHO.
The picture is complicated because the highly transmissible B.117 variant first detected in the UK is behind spikes in some parts of India. In New Delhi, UK variant cases almost doubled during the second half of March, according to Sujeet Kumar Singh, director of the National Centre for Disease Control. The Indian variant, though, is widely present in Maharashtra, the country's hardest-hit state, Singh said.
Prominent U.S. disease modeller Chris Murray, from the University of Washington, said the sheer magnitude of infections in India in a short period of time suggests an "escape variant" may be overpowering any prior immunity from natural infections in those populations.
"That makes it most likely that it’s B.1.617," he said. But Murray cautioned that gene sequencing data on the coronavirus in India is sparse, and that many cases are also being driven by the UK and South African variants.
Carlo Federico Perno, Head of Microbiology and Immunology Diagnostics at Rome's Bambino Gesù Hospital, said the Indian variant couldn't alone be the reason for India's huge surge, pointing instead to large social gatherings.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been criticised for allowing massive political rallies and religious festivals which have been super-spreader events in recent weeks.
DO VACCINES STOP IT?
One bright spot is that vaccines may be protective. White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci said that preliminary evidence from lab studies suggest Covaxin, a vaccine developed in India, appears capable of neutralizing the variant.
Public Health England said it was working with international partners but that there is currently no evidence that the Indian variant and two related variants cause more severe disease or render the vaccines currently deployed less effective.
"We don't have anything to suggest that our diagnostics, our therapeutics and our vaccines don't work. This is important," said Van Kerkhove at WHO."
IP waiver will not boost vaccine production: OPPI
The Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) on Monday said waiving intellectual property rights will not lead to increased production of COVID-19 vaccines, as it is not the barrier to their adequate availability in India.
A proposal moved by India and South Africa before the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to temporarily suspend trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights for the COVID-19 vaccines to increase their access amid the pandemic has gained support across a number of countries, including the U.S.
Vaccine manufacturing is a complex process and scaling up capacities involves the transfer of critical know-how, it added.
Indian shares follow Asia lower as U.S. inflation worries rise
A drop in values for stocks.
Reuters reports: "Indian shares fell on Tuesday after four straight sessions of gains, dragged down by losses in financial and metal stocks, as Asian peers retreated on worries that accelerating U.S. inflation could lead to interest rate hikes sooner than expected.
The NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.91% to 14,806.65 by 0351 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex dropped 0.91% to 49,051.58. The blue-chip indexes have gained around 3% and 2.5%, respectively, over the last four sessions.
Asian shares dipped on Tuesday following a weak close on Wall Street overnight as U.S. inflation expectations surged to their highest in a decade as the economy reopens from COVID-19-related shutdowns.
In Mumbai, the Nifty Bank index slid 1.6%, with top private-sector lender HDFC Bank declining 1.8%, while the Nifty Metal index dropped 3% after a four-day rally to record highs.
Meanwhile, with coronavirus infections and deaths holding close to record daily highs as of Monday, calls have increased for a national lockdown. The World Health Organization has classified the virus variant first identified in India last year as a variant of global concern."