COVID-19 second wave hits investors; Sensex plunges 1,708 points & Nifty 50 ends down at 14,311

The domestic stocks markets plunged around three and a half per cent on Monday, April 12, 2021. The domestic stocks tumbled in sync with heavy losses in the global equity markets amid the resurgence of COVID-19 infections.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex plunged 1,707.94 points or 3.44 per cent to close at 47,883.38. The Nifty 50 index cracked 524.05 points or 3.53 per cent to hit 14,310.80. The Nifty Bank index also lost 1,656.05 points or 5.10 per cent to settle at 390,792.

Broader markets, on the other hand, faced an even severe blow with the S&P BSE MidCap down 5.32 per cent and SmallCap indices dropping 4.81 per cent.

Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 509 shares rose and 2,478 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index on NSE, 4 shares advanced and 46 shares declined. The gainers on Nifty 50 were Dr Reddy (up 7.09 per cent), Cipla (up 2.71 per cent), Divis Lab (up 11.14 per cent) and Britannia (up 0.43 per cent). The top five losers were Tata Motors (down 9.65 per cent), Adani Ports (down 8.94 per cent), IndusInd Bank (down 8.57 per cent), Bajaj Finance (down 7.25 per cent) and UPL (down 6.91 per cent).

COVID-19 Update

Total Covid-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 13,60,56,956 with 29,36,768 deaths. India reported 12,01,009 active cases of Covid-19 infection and 1,70,179 deaths while 1,21,56,529 patients have been discharged, data showed.

A total number of 1,68,912 lakh new cases have been reported in Indi in the past 24 hours taking the cumulative positive cases to over 1.35 crore. The Health and Family Welfare Ministry said, 904 deaths have also been reported during the last 24 hour taking the toll to over 1.70 lakh across the country.

The country's COVID-19 recovery rate is at 89.86 per cent with the recovery of more than 75,000 patients in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that more than 1.21 crore patients have already recovered from this disease. Presently, the total number of active cases in the country is over 12 lakh one thousand nine which comprises 8.88 per cent of the total positive cases.

The Indian Council of Medical Research said that various laboratories have conducted more than 11.80 lakh tests of coronavirus samples during the last 24 hours.

The UK government is relaxing lockdown measures in England on Monday, with outdoor dining and hospitality venues, hairdressers, gyms, shops and outdoor attractions have been allowed to reopen.

India's FOREX

India's foreign exchange reserves declined $2.415 billion to $576.869 billion in the week ended April 2, 2021, RBI data showed on Friday. The reserves had touched a record high of $590.185 billion in the week ended January 29, 2021.

US producer-price index

On the data front, the US producer-price index rose 1 per cent in March, the US Labour Department said on Friday. The rate of wholesale inflation over the past 12 months climbed to 4.2 per cent in March. That's the highest level since September 2011.

Japanese wholesale prices

Japanese wholesale prices marked their first annual increase in more than a year in March, a sign that rising commodities costs are pinching corporate margins and adding inflationary pressure to the Japanese economy. Japan's corporate goods price index (CGPI), which measures the price firms charge each other for their goods and services, rose 1.0 per cent in March from a year earlier, Bank of Japan (BoJ) data showed on Monday.