Mid-Session: Markets extend losses amid lockdown woes
12/04/2021 12:50
Indian benchmark indices continued to bleed during the noon trading session due to rise in Covid cases and possible lockdown in more states.

COVID-19 cases have been surging and touching a new high almost every day, forcing several state governments to impose fresh restrictions. Market participants are worried that a complete lockdown will derail the pace of nascent economic recovery.

As many as 1,68,912 more people tested positive for COVID-19 across the country in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative caseload to 1,35,27,717, the Union health ministry said on April 12 morning.

At 12:48 hours, the 30-share benchmark index was trading at 47951.17 down by -1640.15 points or by -3.31 % and then NSE Nifty was at 14357 down by -477.85 points or by -3.22 %.

Sensex touched intraday high of 48956.65 and intraday low of 47779.71 The NSE Nifty touched intraday high of 14652.5 and intraday low of 14283.55 The top gainers of the BSE Sensex pack were Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. (Rs. 4894.10,+2.83%), among others.

The top losers of the BSE Sensex pack were IndusInd Bank Ltd. (Rs. 849.25,-8.08%), Bajaj Finance Ltd. (Rs. 4525.95,-7.13%), State Bank of India (Rs. 329.30,-6.73%), Oil And Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (Rs. 97.85,-5.73%), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (Rs. 747.20,-5.58%), among others.

Among the sectors, HCS index was at 22701.71 up by -23.03 points or by -0.1%. RPG Life Sciences Ltd. (Rs. 443.15,+9.87%), Solara Active Pharma Sciences Ltd. (Rs. 1469.10,+7.17%), Vimta Labs Ltd. (Rs. 212.90,+4.80%), Cipla Ltd. (Rs. 918.90,+4.15%), Suven Life Sciences Ltd. (Rs. 84.25,+3.00%),.

Realty index was at 2458.72 down by -181.2 points or by -6.86%. DLF Ltd. (Rs. 253.00,-9.47%), Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd. (Rs. 77.90,-8.78%), Sobha Ltd. (Rs. 478.20,-7.91%), Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd. (Rs. 489.50,-7.68%), Godrej Industries Ltd. (Rs. 1270.05,-6.80%),.

The Market breadth, indicating the overall strength of the market, was weak. On BSE out of total shares traded 3187 , shares advanced were 489 while 2497 shares declined and 201 were unchanged.